Them: Caught and Abandoned
by Kate Shephard
Summary: Awhile ago, we hoped for rescue. Awhile ago, we hoped for second chances. Awhile ago, we hoped for a happy ending. But now...now all we hope for is to keep our lives.
1. Prologue

_Disclaimer: I own nothing. Nope. _

_Note: This will be the new Them fanfic. The other will /not/ be updated. I have a feeling you'll like this one better. I'm writing it for NaNoWriMo 2006. So far I have 15 chapters done (32,000 words), so I'll post once a day. I'd appreciate if you'd find all my mistakes and fix them. Thanks. I guarantee that this one will get done since it is for NaNo too._

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**Them**

**Prologue**

"**If you never learn to face your fears, you'll never learn to face life."**

The darkness wasn't normal. It was nothing like the darkness at night, or in a dark room. It felt more like she was in a black hole and there was no escape. It had been the first thing she'd woken up to. Hurt and confused, Kate Austen stayed curled up in a corner, not daring to move away from it. Where was she? Why was she here? She couldn't remember. She couldn't remember much of anything. How had she gotten here? She was sure the enormous headache and dried blood on the side of her face had something to do with that last question though.

Terrified green eyes tried to see through the blackness to see if anyone, or anything, else was in the room with her. She was too nervous to speak up and ask, and she wasn't even sure if her voice would work. Her throat felt dry and she desperately needed some water.

Leaning her head back against the wall, she shut her eyes. Brown curls fell wildly in front of her freckled face, but she didn't bother to push them away. She barely even noticed them. Was Sawyer here? Jack? She remembered talking to them, but everything after that was all a blur. Shaking her head, she curled tighter into her corner. Her gun wasn't in her pocket. It had either fallen out of been stolen, and she had no other weapons with her. There was no point in letting someone or something know she was in here with them without any weapons incase they were dangerous. If there was even anything else in here, that was. She wouldn't have been surprised if she was alone though.

Letting her eyes fall shut again, she drifted off slightly. She made sure she stayed in a light sleep though, not wanting to be asleep if something came near her. She wanted to be able to snap awake and get away from whatever it was.

It could have been seconds that passed. Maybe minutes. Maybe hours. Kate didn't know. But sometime later, the door to the room swung open, filling the room with a bright light. Kate's eyes flew open and she glanced around at the empty gray room. She shivered slightly at the blast of cold air that came in with the light and turned her head to look at the man standing in the doorway. Swallowing hard, she slowly pushed herself up off the ground, flinching in pain as she did so. "Where am I?" she asked, her voice quiet and raspy. "Let me go back to camp."

The man looked at her, smirking slightly. "You can't go back to camp, Katherine." he said. "You're here with us now." He shoved his hand in one of his pockets. "Come along…" he told her. "Try to run and one of us will grab you. There's no way for you to get out, so you might as well not risk yourself getting killed." Nodding, he turned his back to her and began walking.

Kate blinked several times, having problems taking in what he was saying. Her head hurt like crazy and had a weird blurry feeling to it. She gave half a nod, not even sure why she was nodding, then turned and began to follow him out. She glanced around every few moments, wondering if he was right about there being no way out. He could have been lying to her. How stupid was he to let her go and expect her not to run? Kate ran no matter what anyone told her. She was born to run. Maybe for now she'd listen though. Give this place a little bit till she could figure out what was going on. This wasn't the Others' place, so maybe nothing bad would happen. "Where are my friends?" she asked him.

The man glanced back at her. "Your friends?" he asked, pausing to think a moment. "Ooh. You mean the southern idiot, the doctor, and that blond girl. Your friends are fine. Don't worry about it. You'll see them soon enough."

That blond girl? Kate didn't remember any blond girl. Though she also forgot how she got here, so maybe she forgot a few other things too. But her friends were here? Sawyer and Jack were here too? That was sort of a relief. At least she wasn't alone. Bringing one of her hands up to rub her eyes, she continued to follow the guy down a long hallway. Maybe he'd let her go back to sleep. No. She couldn't go to sleep. She had to figure out what was going on and get her and her friends out of here. No sleeping.

The man stopped at a white door and opened it a bit. "You'll be staying here for now." he said. "You're friends will be moved in shortly. Have a good night, Kate." He held the door open, waiting for her to go in.

Kate stared into the room. It looked decent enough. It was a good size for a bedroom, and contained three beds. There was also a door on the right, which she figured was the bathroom. After a moment of staring, she shook her head and took a step back. "Where am I and what's going on?" she asked him, crossing her arms tightly across her chest.

The man raised his eyebrows at her. "I can't tell you that, Kate. It's not my job. You'll just have to wait for someone who can tell you that."

"Oh yeah?" Kate rolled her eyes. "And when will I see someone who can tell me that?" she asked him with a growing frown.

The man shrugged. "Most likely never." he said. He gave her a shove.

Catching her off guard, Kate fell into the room. Her head hit the wall and she squeezed her eyes shut, trying not to yell out. Expecting him to at least ask her if she was okay, she was quite surprised when the door slammed shut and she could hear him walking away. What kind of person was he? She brought her hand back up to her head , touching where it had hit the wall; the same place it had been bleeding earlier. She pulled her hand back and opened her eyes which were blurring with tears. Sure enough through the blur she could see bright red blood.

Slowly lowering herself down so she was lying across the floor, she put her hand back on her head and closed her eyes. No sleeping. She would just wait for the pain to stop. No sleeping. No sleeping. Sure enough, she was soon out again. It was hard to tell whether she fell asleep or passed out, but she was completely out of it.


	2. Nell'inizio

**Thanks to the people who reviewed on the first chapter. I'm hoping my old Them readers will pick up on the fact that I've changed the story. Here is the first actual chapter. **

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**Chapter 1**

**Nell'inizio**

"**Live for today because yesterdays are over and tomorrows may never come."**

"Well ain't this just dandy." The southern voice broke the silence. "I mean…We talk about things getting' borin' and then we end up here…Musta been like a miracle or something'." Sawyer looked at the other two people in the room with a smirk. "Any escape plans yet, Doc?"

Jack looked up from a spot on the floor with a sigh. "No. But if I think of one, I'll be sure to leave you out of it." he replied. Running his hand over his short brown hair, he looked around the room. Unlike Kate, the three of them were lucky enough to at least get some light in there room. But also unlike Kate, they were unlucky enough to have to be stuck with Sawyer. Jack was sure, wherever she was, that she wouldn't have cared which one of them she was stuck with as long as she wasn't alone though.

"Well thanks…And if I think of any, I'll be sure to leave you out to." Sawyer replied, with a nod. He shoved his hands in his pockets and closed his eyes, trying to think of a plan, just so he could have one thought of before Jack did.

"Don't fight you two, okay?" A girl in her mid -twenties told them. She shifted uncomfortably in the corner she was sitting in and crossed her arms. Pale green eyes stared at them, a strand of blond hair hanging down in front of one of her eyes. "We should be trying to get out of here."

"Oh yeah, Sunshine? Well I haven't heard any of your plans yet…Till ya get one, we'll do as we please." Sawyer replied, rolling his eyes. "Who're you to tell us what to do anyways? You ain't known us more than a hour…"

The girl sighed slightly and shook her head, looking down. "Well excuse me for trying to help." she replied quietly.

"Leave her alone, Sawyer." Jack said. "It's bad enough you have to annoy me. Don't annoy…" his voice trailed off as he searched his mind for her name. Had she told them her name? He didn't think she had.

"Jessie." The girl filled in for him, tucking a strand of her shoulder length hair behind her ear. "I'm Jessie."

"Don't annoy Jessie too." Jack said, frowning at Sawyer. He smiled a bit and turned to Jessie. "I'm Jack, by the way. And that's Sawyer…It's best to just ignore him."

"Oh yeah, Jack-O?" Sawyer asked. "Ignore me when I think of an escape plan before you do then." He leaned his head back against the wall, staring up at the ceiling.

Jack sighed and ignored him, though found it hard to take his own advise. This guy was just too much of a pro at being annoying. "Think Kate is okay?" he asked after a few moments, glancing over at him.

"Who? Freckles?" Sawyer replied. "Yeah, she's okay…She probably kicked their butts and got outa here by now…That's why they ain't come to get us yet…She killed 'em all off."

Jack sighed and shook his head slightly. "Is it impossible for you to be serious just this once, Sawyer?" he asked him.

Sawyer smirked. "You bet it is." he replied. He put his hands behind his head and looked at Jessie. "So how'd you come to Mystery Frickin' Island?" he asked her.

Jessie raised her eyebrows at him. "I crashed on the same plane you did." she replied. "So the same way you got here."

"Oh." Sawyer replied. "Then hows come I don't 'member seein' ya around before?" he asked. "Ain't one of the Others, are ya?"

"No, I'm not one of the Others. And because I mostly stayed in my tent." Jessie said, frowning. She wasn't one of the Others.

"Mostly stayed in your tent, huh?" Sawyer asked. "Well I guess that explains it then. You're one a those no fun, stay inside people."

Jessie shrugged. "So what if I am? I'm not hurting you, now am I?"

Sawyer smirked. "Hurts that a pretty lil thing like you stays inside where I can't see ya." he replied.

"Leave her alone, Sawyer." Jack warned. He opened his mouth to make a smart comment, but then shut it again. There was no point in sinking as low as he was.

Sawyer shot him a glare then shut his eyes. "It don't matter. I already got myself a girl."

"Sure, you do." Jack muttered, looking away, a bit jealous. He knew who he meant. He meant that he had Kate. Though neither of them really had Kate.

"What? Ya think she likes you, Doc?" Sawyer asked with a chuckle. "Well when she finally decides she likes one of us, you're gonna be kinda disappointed when that someone she likes is me."

Jack shook his head a bit. "And what makes you think it'll be you?" he asked, raising a brow at him. "How do you know she's even going to pick anyone us, hmm?"

"How do you know she's not?" Sawyer replied.

"Guys!" Jessie cut in, frowning at them. "Just stop it okay. I hope she decides she doesn't like either of you if you keep fighting like this. You're giving me a headache." She ran her hand through her hair, just sort of staring at them like they were the most pathetic people she'd ever seen in her entire life.

Jack looked over at her, staring at her for a moment. He sighed, realizing she was right. What made him think he even came close to deserving her when he fought over her like this? Though what made Sawyer deserve her if he didn't deserve her? Sawyer was sure worse than he was.

All three of them turned to look at the door as it opened and a man stepped in. It was the same one that had taken Kate to a different room, but they didn't know that. "Get up." the man told them simply.

Sawyer smirked. "And what's gonna happen if I don't?" he replied, crossing his arms. He rolled his eyes as the other two got up. What wimps.

"If you don't?" The man asked. He leaned against the wall and scratched his chin, thinking for a few moments. "And if you don't…Hmm…Well we do have that little friend of yours here in another room…Kate her name is…I'm sure we could do something to her to make you get up."

Sawyer frowned. Great. With a defeated sigh, his stood and looked at him. "Happy now, shorty?" he asked him.

The man shrugged. "Depends…You keep making me give you threats to get you to do things and happy will be one thing I'm not." he answered.

"Well then I'm thinkin' happy is one thing ya won't be." Sawyer replied with a grin.

"Well then neither will you." The man replied. He ran his hand over his short black hair and turned. "Follow me." he said. Shoving his hands in his pockets, he began down the long gray hallway, whistling as he walked. He wouldn't mention that they still wouldn't be happy even if he was happy. He'd let them figure that one out themselves.


	3. Attaccato

**Thanks to all who reviewed. )**

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**Chapter 2**

**Attaccato**

"**Courage is not the absence of fear, but the presence of fear with the will to go on."**

It all came down to this, didn't it? She was going to lie here knocked out until she simply died. Being half aware of what was going on, but not being able to do anything about it was not the best way to go either. Darkness swirled around her, and no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't seem to get her eyes to open. She couldn't seem to move either. Or make any noise for that matter. As the door swung open, she only heard it slightly in her blur of thoughts, but she knew someone else was in the room with her, but who? Kate wasn't sure. Hopefully it wasn't anyone to hurt her.

Kate was the first thing that caught the eyes of all three of them as Jack, Sawyer, and Jessie walked into the room. She was just lying there in a lifeless form on the floor. What had they done?

Sawyer quickly turned to the man, narrowing his eyes at him. "I swear…" he muttered under his breath.

"You swear what?" The man replied. "She's not dead…and what would you do if she was? There's more of us than there are of you. Deal with it." With that the door slammed shut, leaving the three of them in the room alone.

Jack was quick to kneel down by Kate, shaking his head a bit. He examined the side of her head. "It's not that bad." he said. "She should be fine."

"Should be?" Sawyer asked. "What do ya mean by should be?"

"She will be fine." Jack re-worded his statement, gently sitting Kate up a bit, leaning her against him. "Check the bathroom for a cloth and cold water." he said, looking up at Jessie and Sawyer.

There was a moments pause and Jessie realized Sawyer wasn't going to go get it. She quickly turned and headed into the bathroom, glancing around for what Jack had asked for. The bathroom was clean and organized, making it much easier for her to find the cloths. After grabbing one, she turned on the water. She rooted through the medicine cabinet as she waited for it to get cold. Nothing they could have used in there. She soaked the cloth in cold water, then turned the water off and walked back over to Jack, handing it to him.

"Thanks." Jack told her, cleaning the blood off of Kate then pressing the rag to the side of her head. There were no icepacks, so this would have to do for now. "Come on, Kate…Wake up." he told her softly, ignoring the glares that he was getting from Sawyer. Sawyer was the least of his worried right now.

Kate shifted slightly, feeling someone holding her upright and the cold wetness against her head. Who was there? Her eyes fluttered open and took awhile to adjust. An inaudible sigh of relief left her lips when she realized it was just Jack, Sawyer, and Jessie. She let her eyes close again, frowning as Jack shook her slightly.

"Stay awake." Jack told her, shifting her a bit more. "Can you talk to me?" he asked her. "Does anything hurt?"

Kate sighed and opened her eyes again, glancing up at him. "I'm fine." she told him, stubbornly. Her voice was still a bit raspy and she wanted water, but other than that she sounded alright for now. She replaced his hand in holding the rag against her head with her own and scooted away from him a bit, using the wall to lean against.

Jack sighed and shook his head a bit at her stubbornness. Oh well. If she didn't want his help then he'd stop giving it to her until she needed it. "You want me to get you some water?" he asked. He wasn't sure where he'd get a glass. Maybe they had one in the bathroom or something.

Kate nodded her head slightly, looking at him. "Yeah." she said. "Thanks." She tore her eyes away from him and glanced around the room before looking at Sawyer. She forced a smile at him then closed her eyes.

"So I see they knocked ya good one." Sawyer said, smirking a bit. "What'd ya do to 'em, Freckles?"

"I didn't do anything to them." Kate replied, smiling slightly as Jack brought her a glass of water. "Thanks." she said, taking a sip of it.

"No problem." Jack told her with a smile. He walked over to one of the beds and sat down. "You want help over to one of the beds?" he asked.

Kate shook her head, flinching a bit as she did so. "I'm fine right here for now." she told him, taking another sip of water.

Jack looked at her then nodded his head slightly. "Alright." he said. "If you need help, just ask me…"

"What if she wants my help though?" Sawyer replied, arching a brow at him.

"Or Sawyer." Jack added, shaking his head slightly. Why did it matter who she asked? She was just going to ask for help to do something. It's not like it was anything more. Shutting his eyes, he lied down on the bed, shaking his head a bit more.

No sooner than Jack had lied down, the door swung open and the man walked into the room. "Get up." he said, looking at Kate.

Kate looked up at him and frowned. "I can't." she replied honestly. She wasn't even sure if she could try to get up.

The man narrowed his eyes at her. He grabbed her shoulders and pulled her up onto her feet, ignoring how dizzy she looked.

Sawyer frowned and walked over to him. "Leave her alone." he said, balling his hands into fists. "Keep your dang hands off of her."

"Shut up." The man replied in an icy tone. "You either shut up or I hurt her…"

Kate glanced over at Sawyer. "Sawyer…" she said softly, but was cut off.

"You keep your mouth shut too!" The man replied, giving her a rough shake.

"Hey." Jack said, getting up and walking over to them, watching as Kate began to us all the strength she had to struggle against the man. He gave him a shove, narrowing his eyes at him. "Keep away from her."

"Hey! A little help in here!" The man called, stumbling slightly as he was shoved. Only seconds after he shouted, three more men rushed in the room to help him, pretty much causing all of them to start struggling. Somehow in between it all the fighting, Kate was shoved out the door, followed by the first man.


	4. Sogno

**Chapter 3**

**Sogno**

"**Do not fear death, but the unlived life."**

The man led her down the hall, taking a few twists and turns before he came to a door. A grey medical cart stood beside it, holding a single needle. The man picked it up. "This should make things even more fun." he said, turning so he was facing her. He squirted a little bit of the clear liquid out of the top, making sure it worked than looked at her. "Ready?"

Kate took a few small steps back, her eyes fixed on the needle. "What...what is that?" she asked, wincing internally at how pathetically afraid her voice sounded.

The man kept a tight hold on her wrist, not wanting to have to chase her down. "You'll see." the man told her, his smirk still growing. He looked at the needle, tilting his head to the side a bit, then straightened up and looked at her a bit. He pulled on her wrist slightly, trying to find a good place on her arm to stick her with the needle, then moved the needle closer to her arm.

Kate flinched as he pulled on her wrist. Realizing that she wasn't going to get away, she squeezed her eyes shut, looking away, the arm that he held shaking.

The man stuck the needle in her, making sure all of what was in it got in her. He then put the needle down and quickly opened the door. The room was dark, and held no light switch. "Oh...and don't worry about the side effects...Headache, nausea, dizziness, confusion...That should only make this more fun for you." With that, he gave her a push towards the inside of the dark room. It was completely empty, dark, and there were no signs of buttons, levers, or anything like that on the outside or the inside. What could possibly happen?

As she stumbled into the room, Kate already began to feel one of the side effects - she was horribly confused. She couldn't see anything, just stood in the middle of the pitch black room.

The man shut the door, leaving her in the pitch black. It stayed pitch black for several moments...No lights...no noises...no movement...No nothing. But in the blink of an eye, the scenery changed. It went from pitch black to something else. In the blink of an eye, it was a house. A big one too. And there were no walls from the room...You could go up the stairs...into the rooms...the room she'd been in wasn't even there anymore. The only place that couldn't be gone, was out the door to the outside. The house looked like one that would been seen in a scary movie or a nightmare. It was old, dimly lit, cobwebs all over. The furniture was covered with grayish white blankets, looking like it hadn't been touched in years. There was a squeaking noise, then all of a sudden, someone appeared beside her. "Hello there, Kate." Boone said.

Kate looked around, completely disoriented. She took a startled step back as Boone appeared beside her. "Boone?" she asked warily.

Boone smiled slightly. "Yup. It's me." he said. He stood there looking at her, then in the blink of an eye, he disappeared. There was another squeaking noise and he appeared on the other side of her. "Want a tour of the house?"

Kate jumped, startled, as he appeared on the other side of her. "I..." She shook her head. "This is a hallucination or something. You're dead."

"Am I?" Boone asked her. He turned and walked over to a mirror, wiping off some of the dust. "I don't feel dead. Do I look dead?" He turned to look at her, blinking. "I'm pretty sure I'm very much alive...How about that tour now?" He began to head for the living room.

Kate began to follow him, then stopped, shaking her head. "No. I saw you dead. I was there when they buried you." Her befuddled mind was trying to think through this, but whether from the drug or seeing Boone in front of her, it couldn't seem to do it. "You're dead."

Boone put his hands on his head, then on his shoulders, then continued to feel all over himself. "I really don't feel dead...I think I'd know if I was dead..." He disappeared again, being replaced after a few seconds by a little girl. She stared up at her with big green eyes and an adorable doll baby face, covered in freckles. Curly brown hair fell to her shoulders, bouncing slightly as she walked over to her. "Hi, Mommy."

All that thinking made Kate's head hurt. Or was it the shot? Had the man said something about headaches? She couldn't remember. Suddenly Boone was gone. Kate smiled at the little girl who replaced him - up until she spoke. "Mommy?" Kate questioned, confused. "I'm not your mommy."

The little girl, who looked to be around four or five, giggled. "Yes you are, Silly." she said. "Remember? I'm your little baby." She grinned at her. "Let's go play with Daddy..." she said, grabbing her hand and tugging on it.

Kate couldn't help smiling down at the little girl. She was adorable. She allowed the girl to pull her along, fighting the feeling that the floor was tilting beneath her.

The little girl headed into the living room, pushing away a cobweb as it hit her. "We haven't cleaned up much since you died, Mommy. Daddy will be happy to see you...He doesn't do much anymore...He just sits there...He doesn't play with me. Why did you die, Mommy?"

_But I didn't die..._ Kate thought. _I'm not dead._ Unless...had the man killed her with that injection? Was she dead? "I don't know," was the only reply she made. _Am I dead?_ she thought. And then another question: _And if I'm her mother, who is "Daddy"?_

The little girl continued to pull her along, stopping at a room. The door different much from the rest of the house. It was white, with pretty pink painted flowers on it. "This is my room, remember?" she said. She opened the door to a room that was worse than the rest of the house. It was dark and dirty, covered in dust and cobwebs and the smell was sickening, though she didn't seem to notice. "Daddy! Mommy's here! Are you happy to see her?" She smiled over at the figure that was sitting, leaning back against the wall. Through the little bit of light it could be seen that it was Sawyer. His eyes were closed, his face twisted in a horrible pain. A bloody knife stuck out of his chest, the blood on his shirt dried. Flesh was rotting and it was obvious the body had been there awhile.

Kate took a step back in horror. "Sawyer..." she whispered, tears forming in her eyes at the sight of his lifeless body. Her stomach clenched, and she fought back a wave of nausea. She shook her head. _This isn't real...this can't be real..._ She looked over at the little girl - her and Sawyer's little girl, if in some strange world she was telling the truth. "What happened?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"You killed him." Another voice said. Jack stepped into the room behind them, carrying a little boy who looked to be a year old. There was no doubt that that kid was Jack's. He was like a mini Jack, looking exactly like him. Light freckles were scattered over his cheeks though. "You killed him...You killed all of us..."

The little girl turned to look at Kate, her eyes growing very sad. "You didn't love me anymore?" she asked.

Jack walked past her. He lifted up the back of the little girl's shirt, revealing where a knife had been stuck into her back.

Kate shook her head, the tears falling freely. "No..." She shook her head desperately. "No..." She met the little girl's eyes, tearing her own eyes away from the knife in her back. "I didn't mean to...I'm so sorry..."

"It doesn't matter if you're sorry. You did it." Jack said. "Look what you did to your son, Kate." He tilted him over, showing her the knife wound on the top of his head. "Look what you did to me Kate." He put the little boy down, who looked up at Kate, and showed her the knife wound in his chest.

Kate continued to shake her head. "No...no, I didn't..." She couldn't look away from the wound on Jack's chest. "I didn't mean to...I didn't mean to..."

Sawyer shifted slightly in the corner. He groaned and pulled the knife out of himself. "You see what you did to us, Freckles? You see what you did? Look at your children...You murdered them...You stuck them with knives...You're other little boy is still in the bathroom waiting for you."

Kate fell to her knees, both from hearing this and from the dizzy spell now affecting her. "Please...I didn't...I'm sorry..." She completely broke down. "I didn't mean to, I didn't know...I'm so sorry..."

"Aiden!" Sawyer called, looking towards the door.

"Yeah, Daddy?" A little boy who looked to be around seven asked. Blood was streaming from the side of his head and he was soaked in water. He turned to face Kate. "You didn't love us anymore?" he asked, his chin quivering. He began to cry, soon followed by the other two children.

"You see what you did, Freckles...Look at them...Aiden, Riley, Noah...Look what you did to all of us."

Kate was sobbing. "No...I didn't, I'm sorry...no..." She looked up at Sawyer and Jack, trying to get them to understand. "I didn't know, I'm so sorry...I didn't know..."

Boone walked into the room, shaking his head at her. "You're horrible...You didn't deserve these people. You killed them then you killed yourself...Look what you did."

All of a sudden, all of them began laughing sick laughs. They stood up and looked at her. As they laughed, the flesh began to peel right off of them, melting onto the floor. It was followed by their blood which began to cover the room, and then their bones which began to turn into dust.

"I didn't...I didn't mean to..." Kate's entire body shook, then she watched in horror as they began to melt in front of her. "No..." she whispered, then louder, "no...", until she was screaming. "NO!"

Their laughs got quieter until there was once again no more noise. The scenery changed once again after a few moments. This time they were in the park. Sawyer, Aiden, and Riley were there. Sawyer was sitting on a park bench as Aiden swung on the swings, and Riley played in the sand. There were two men off to the side, whispering and occasionally glancing at them. One held a suitcase and began walking over to Kate.

Kate's head spun as the scenery changed and her mind tried to focus. Even though she could make no sense out of any of this, she couldn't help but feel relieved as she saw Sawyer, Riley, and Aiden, apparently alive.

The man stopped beside her. "Hello again, Kate." He took off his dark sunglasses and looked at her. Once again, it was Boone. "You shouldn't have shot him, Kate...Now he's going to get his revenge."

Right as Boone said revenge, two gunshots rang out, one hitting Sawyer and one hitting Aiden. Riley got up and tried to run, but Jason caught her, holding her up by the back of her shirt.

Kate screamed, startled, as the shots rang out and Sawyer and Aiden were hit. "Let her go!" she screamed at Jason, trying to get him to release Riley.

"Let her go?" Jason asked. He shrugged and threw her on the ground, making her scream out in pain. He knelt down beside her, holding her down as she squirmed and held the gun to the front of her head.

"No!" Kate screamed. She grabbed his arm, trying to pull him off of Riley. "Stop it...please, just stop it..."

Jason pulled the trigger and the little girl's body went limp. She died with her eyes glued to Kate, her face twisted in pure horror. Jason smirked and looked at her.

Kate screamed as the gunshot rang out, unable to tear her eyes away from Riley's small, limp body.

The scenery changed again, and this time it was a beautiful living room in a gorgeous house. Jack was lying across the couch, playing patty cake with Noah. He looked more happy and relaxed then he had ever in his entire life. He smiled and glanced over at Kate. "We could use a third person."

"Mommy." Noah said with a laugh, clapping Jack's hands together and looking at Kate.

Kate stumbled towards them, disoriented yet again by the sudden scenery change. Against her will, she felt herself begin to relax. She sat down on the couch.

Jack looked at her frowning. "You look kind of out of it." he said, placing his hand on her forehead. "I hope you're not getting sick again." He looked at her, then glanced at the clock and sat up. "Let's head to bed, Hun." There was a loud noise outside, but Jack didn't seem to notice as he stood up, holding his hand down for her.

Kate noticed the noise, and a worried look appeared on her face as she took his hand. "Jack, something's not right," she said, desperately trying to make him understand. "Something bad's going to happen."

Jack frowned and looked down at her. "Kate, everything is fine." he assured her, shifting Noah in his arms a bit. "Are you feeling bad again, because I can give you some more medicine before we go to sleep."

Kate shook her head. "I'm fine, Jack, listen to me. Something bad's going to happen - to you and Noah both. You have to trust me." She met his eyes. "Please, Jack..."

Jack gave her a confused look. "Nothing bad is going to happen to anyone." he said. "Look...Buddy will make sure of it." He nodded to a German shepherd the was sitting on the floor scratching his ear. "Come on." He began heading upstairs.

Kate couldn't argue with him any more. She followed him up the stairs, dreading the horrible thing that she somehow knew was about to happen.

Jack headed first into the nursery. "Say night night, Momma..." he said, holding him to Kate. "Gonna give her a kiss?"

"Mommy..." Noah said, kissing her cheek.

Jack smiled and lied him down in his crib and headed for his own bedroom.

Despite herself, Kate began to think that maybe Jack was right. Maybe nothing was wrong at all. "Goodnight, honey," she told Noah, smiling slightly, before following Jack toward his room.

Jack put his arm around her and headed into their room. He shut the door a crack, having it open enough that they could hear if Noah cried. He yawned and stripped down to his boxers then began to get in bed.

Kate sat down on the edge of the bed. "Jack, I...I think something's wrong with me." She looked over at him.

Jack frowned. "What's wrong?" he asked, reaching to wrap his arms around her.

Kate leaned into him, closing her eyes as his arms wrapped around her. "I don't know, I just...I have this feeling like..." She hesitated, then continued. "Like this isn't real."

Jack kissed the top of her head, holding her close. "Baby, it's probably just from being sick yesterday and this morning." he said. "You're fever went down pretty fast so it's probably just giving you a weird feeling." He slid his hand under the back of her shirt, rubbing her back and shoulders. "Let's just get some sleep and then in the morning things will be better."

Kate nodded slightly, trying to erase the images of all of them dying, of them getting captured in the first place, from her mind. She wanted nothing more than to believe him. "Okay," she said softly, closing her eyes.

Jack nodded his head, kissing the top of her head again. He reached over and turned off the light, then slowly lied them down, holding her close as he closed his eyes. There was another loud crash and he sighed. "I think Buddy is into something." he muttered, beginning to get up again.

A panicked look spread across Kate's face, and she grabbed his arm. "Jack, no...I told you, I think something bad's going to happen...I don't think it's Buddy."

Jack sighed. He raised his arm slightly and kissed her hand. "I didn't take the trash out. He's probably into it...It's just Buddy, Katie..." He rubbed his eyes and stood up, turning the light back on.

Kate wanted so badly to believe him. "You're probably right," she said, "but just let me come with you. Okay?" She said it like she knew she was being ridiculous, but she couldn't help it.

Jack nodded his head. "Come on." he said, reaching his hand out for her's again.

Kate took his hand, not letting go even once she'd stood up. As they began to walk toward the door, Kate hoped with all her heart that she was wrong.

Jack headed downstairs with her and into the kitchen where Buddy was eating the trash. "See?" he said. He then frowned. "Damn dog." Keeping hold of her hand, he gathered it up with his free one and opened the door, tossing it outside. He turned to look at her with a smile, not seeing as a man stepped up behind him.

A relieved smile spread across Kate's face as she saw Buddy eating the trash. She smiled back at Jack, but the smile turned into a look of fright as a man stepped up behind him. "Jack-"

Jack raised his eyebrows. He turned, but then turned back and frowned. "What?" he asked, not seeing the man.

Kate didn't understand why he couldn't see him. "There's a man standing behind you," she told him, panic beginning to creep into her voice. "I can see him."

Jack turned and looked again. "Honey, I don't see anyone." he told her. He shut the door, the man stepping in as he shut it.

"Jack, he's right there..." Kate was starting to get scared now, not only because she could tell the man wasn't good, but because Jack apparently couldn't see him.

Jack looked around his kitchen, then frowned at her. "Come on...Let's go back to bed now..." he said, beginning to head for the stairs again.

Kate began to follow him, her eyes never leaving the man standing in their kitchen. Why couldn't Jack see him?

Jack slid his arm around her. He walked upstairs, the man following right behind them. "I was thinking if you're okay tomorrow we take Noah to the beach..." Jack said. "We haven't been there in awhile..."

Kate nodded, not really paying full attention. Her eyes stayed glued to the man. "Jack, I don't know if there's something wrong with me, or not, but I see a man standing right there." Her voice shook slightly.

Jack looked at her and turned again. He stopped, knowing she wasn't joking. "Kate..." he said slowly. "Close your eyes and count to five, then open them and tell me if he's still there."

"I'm going to kill him...and there's nothing you can do..." The man whispered. "I'm going to murder him right in front of your eyes..."

A chill ran up Kate's spine at the man's words. She closed her eyes and counted to five, then opened them again and looked at the man, then at Jack. "He's still here," she said, her voice shaking worse. "Jack, you need to get out of here, he says he's going to kill you..."

"Kate, if someone was there, I'd see them." Jack said, looking concerned. He looked down at her. Something was wrong. He didn't know what to do. "Katie, let's take you to the hospital and get you looked at." he told her softly.

"You can't run...It won't work...Our game will go on and on...He's going to die...You're going to cry...and then the tables will turn...So hug him tight now...You won't see him again...Better tell him you love him...This is the end..." The man whispered.

Kate felt herself begin to shake, but she couldn't stop it. She looked up at Jack, her face showing that she was terrified despite her efforts to conceal it. "Jack, I...I love you." And she did. Maybe not in her old reality, stranded on an island, caught between two men, not knowing which she loved, or if she loved either, but here, in this reality, she loved him.

Jack looked at her. "Sweetie, I love you too...Now let's get you to the hospital and find out what's wrong...I'll call Marc to watch Noah, okay?"

"How do you know if this is reality or fake...Do you think things will be okay...Can the hospital fix what's not even wrong...Can you hold on to the one thing you long...You have five minutes that will be his last...Do what you want...because when it's gone, it's the past..."

Kate caught his arm. "Jack, wait." She paused for a second. "I could be crazy, I could be hallucinating, I don't know. All I know is that this man I'm seeing keeps saying that he's going to kill you, and we have five minutes." She hesitated again. "So give me those five minutes, okay?" she asked, her voice thick with unshed tears. "And after that, if nothing happens, we'll go to the hospital, all right?"

Jack looked at her and sighed. What could five minutes hurt? "Alright, Hun." he said, nodding.

"You're lucky he listened...That he didn't go...five minutes could have been wasted...even if he doesn't know...He's going to leave you...better hurry with what you want...Because when he's gone...it's you I get to taunt..."

Kate's heart ached with wishing that this had been real, that everything else had been simply a bad dream. But she knew it wasn't - the man's arrival had proved that. With tears welling in her eyes, she looked up at Jack, then gently wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to his.

Jack closed his eyes. He wrapped his arms around her and softly kissed her back.

"Four minutes left...Times almost out...he's going to die...and you'll cry and shout...You wish it was real...but you know that it's not...Things will spiral downwards...better pray from my gun there's no shot..."

Kate continued to kiss him, her eyes closing and one lone tear slipping down her cheek. She tried to tune out the man's creepily rhyming words.

Jack put one of his hands on her cheek, catching the tear. He stroked her cheek with his thumb.

"Three more to go...Anxious right now...Soon they'll be two...Oh how you'll miss him oh how...You lucky I let him last all this long...I could have shot him...but wouldn't that be sick and wrong..."

Kate broke the kiss, just barely, tears beginning to stream down her cheeks. "It's not enough time," she whispered. "I'm so sorry...I love you..."

Jack put his other hand on her other cheek. "Listen to me...I'm going to take you to the hospital and they're going to make you better and we'll be fine..." he said.

"Only two more...After that will be one...Isn't this waiting...oh so much fun...It's going to be over...He's going to fall...And once he does...It'll be the end of it all..."

Kate wished with all her heart that she could believe him. "I love you..." she whispered again. She put her hands on his, one on either side of her face.

"We're going to be fine..." Jack told her. "We're going to go to the hospital, then we're going to go to bed...and then tomorrow the three of us are going to have fun on the beach."

"The last sixty seconds...Now fifty-nine...You know it's going to end...even if he tells you it'll be fine...Give him a hug...hold onto him tight...You'll never forget...what happened this night..."

Kate listened to the man, wrapping her arms around Jack's neck again and pulling him close, hugging him fiercely. "I love you," she whispered again.

"I know you do...I love you too." Jack whispered. A gunshot rang out and Jack fell to the floor, moaning in pain.

Kate fell to her knees, sobbing. She cradled Jack's head in her lap, stroking his face and hair. "I love you..." she whispered one last time.

Everything went dark again, and the room came back into view. Once again, there were no lights, no sounds, no movement, no sign that anything she just saw ever even happened.


	5. Sensibilità differenti

**Chapter 4**

**Sensibilità differenti**

"**The truth is; we hide so we can be found, we walk to see who will follow, we cry to see who will wipe away our tears, and we let our hearts get broke to see who will come and fix it."**

Kate lied there, staring up into the darkness. What had just happened? What was going on? Okay. So there was a needle. Was that a hallucination? Was Jack really dead? Why did they do that to her? Her head spun with questions and tears blurred her eyes. What would she do if Jack was really dead? He couldn't be dead. He just couldn't be.

Using all the strength she could find -which wasn't much-, Kate pushed herself up slightly. Her head was spinning and she felt sick, so staying upright didn't last long. She was quickly lying down again, squeezing her eyes shut. "Jack…" she whimpered, shaking her head. "Hey! Let me out of here!" she pleaded, hoping there was someone outside the room. "Let me out! This isn't funny!" She wiped her tears away on her arm, getting frustrated with herself for crying. "Let me out…" she begged. "Please…"

There was so sign of anyone. There was no noises, no lights, just Kate and a dark room. Rolling over, she pulled herself into a little ball, burying her face in her hands. This was unfair. She had no idea what was going on. They had no right to do this to her. No right at all. Her face scrunched up, but she still fought tears. She hated crying, and there was no way she was doing it here. Not around these people. They'd probably take advantage of her weakness.

For what seemed like hours, she just lied there in the darkness, staring. She drew random designs on the ground with her fingers, but that didn't seem to cure her boredom. She wanted to be moved back to the other room with her friends. It was horrible being stuck in this dark room all alone. Not only was it lonely, it was also scary. Resting her head on one of her arms, she closed her eyes with a sigh. Maybe she should think about what she saw.

Running her hand through her hair, she lied there, trying to figure out what was going on and if this was all a dream too. Was this a dream and everything else real? What was really going on? They were answers that she really needed to find.

A slight noise on the other side of the room startled her a bit, and she forced herself up, leaning back against the wall. Silence overtook her and she sat there listening as hard as she could to see if she could hear the noise again. It was a quiet breathing noise and an occasionally sound of something soft brushing against the floor. Squeezing her eyes shut, she crossed her arms, praying that whatever else was in there with her was oblivious to the fact that she was in there too.

Several minutes passed and the noise stopped. It stayed quiet for at least ten minutes and Kate finally opened her eyes. She opened her mouth to speak, but couldn't even seem to find her voice. "He-hello?" she finally asked, her voice quivering. "Who else is in here?"

There was another small noise and then silence again.

Trembling in fear, Kate backed herself into the nearest corner, pulling her knees up to her chest. She stared at where she thought the noise was coming from, her entire body so tense that it hurt. If this was some sort of a practical joke, it sure was not funny. "Show yourself." she whispered, looking around. She would rather see what was in there and have it be horrifying then not know and still be horrified.

A small light flickered on, spreading dimly across the room. She looked around, but the room was empty. She couldn't even find where the light was coming from. She hated this. This room. This place. These people. Not even a day of being here…and having no information at all…they were already torturing them. At least with the Others they knew slightly what they were up against. But not here. Hearing another noise right beside her, she quickly turned her head. She came face to face with the creepiest man she'd ever seen in her entire life. With a scream, she jumped up and pressed herself back against the wall. "Who are you?" she asked, staring at him. He was tall, probably about a foot taller than she was. An eye patch covered his right eyes and he was bald. A smirk played across his lips and he looked like he belonged an asylum.

"Hello there, Katie." He said, taking a step towards her.

"Get away from me." Kate said quickly, putting her hand out in front of her. Oh what she would do for her gun right now. "Get away." She glanced at the door. "JACK!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, hoping to be heard. She knew he probably couldn't hear her, but she hoped that he could and would do something to get her out of this place. Why Jack's name and not Sawyer's? She wasn't sure. Jack was always the hero…always saving people. It just seemed like instinct to call his name though. "JA…" she was cut off by the guy's hand going over her mouth.

"He's not going to save you, Katie." He told her, shaking his head as he pressed her against the wall. "You're wasting your voice just trying." He smirked slightly, pulling a knife out of his pocket.

"Don't call me that." Kate mumbled through his hand, not wanting to be called Katie. He eyes widened even more at the knife. "What are you doing with that?!"

"I'm sorry…I can't here you." The man said, pressing his hand harder against her mouth. He put the knife against her neck, looking at her. "Now you listen here, Katie. A lot is going to go on in the next week or so…And you're going to do everything we tell you to. You know why?" He stared at her as if expecting an actual answer.

Kate made a small noise in response, signaling that she didn't. She had a feeling that was about to tell her though, whether she wanted to hear why or not.

The man smirked even more. "Because if you don't, you're friends are going to die." he replied. "And you'll watch as we kill them…So you're going to do everything that we tell you too. If you're lucky, you'll make it out of this place alive…Though who knows about your friends. So no lying, no running. This place will change you, whether you like it or not. Some how, we will make you listen to us. Do you understand?" He took his hand off of her mouth, once again expecting an answer.

Kate stared at him for a moment, before a small 'yes' left her lips. No lying? No running? Jack and Sawyer would be killed? This place was going to /change/ her? "May…may I just go back to my friends now?" she asked quietly, almost afraid to even talk.

"Give me the plane in your pocket, Kate." The man said, not answering his question. He held his hand out and raised her eyebrows.

Kate blinked a few times, her eyes growing dark. "No." she whispered, putting her hand on her pocket. "You can't have that."

The man tilted his head to the side. "You /want/ your friends to die, Katie?" he asked her. "Give me the plane."

The plane or her friends dying? Which to choose. "Get away from me." she replied quietly, her voice shaking even more.

The man straightened up a bit, narrowing his eyes at her. He sent his hand across her cheek. "Give. Me. The. Plane."

Kate brought her other hand up to her cheek and closed her eyes for a moment. She too stood up straighter then opened her eyes to look him straight in the eyes. "No." she said firmly. Her hands balled into fists and she got ready to fight him if she needed to.

"You've used your warning, Kate." The man said. "The next time, the Southerner dies." He let the knife drop and grabbed her arms, holding them tightly. "This time it's just punishment for you." He tightened his grip as she began squirming then easily tossed her at the door. She was quite small, so she didn't weigh all that much.

Kate closed her eyes and her body came in contact with the door, hitting it so hard the whole thing broke and fell over, her landing on top of it. How did he have that much strength? Struggling to get up and fight him back, she fell back over again when his foot hit her side. Maybe staying still would be better. She lied there with her eyes tightly shut, waiting for him to just leave her alone and take her back to the room. Sure enough, he soon yanked her up onto her feet and gave her a shove towards the room. After stumbling a bit, Kate finally regained her balance. Ignoring the excruciating pain that was shooting through her entire body, she headed back to the room, now believing him. They'd change her. They didn't seem very afraid of violence. She might change, but they'd never get her plane though.


	6. Cuore o Testa?

**Disclaimer: The dream in this chapter belongs to the dude who writes the LOST series. I just adapted it to fit Kate.**

* * *

**Chapter 5**

**Cuore o Testa?**

"**What do you do when you want to hold on, but your instincts tell you to run? You're scared and confused. Should you follow your heart, or follow your head?"**

Her body throbbed in pain by the time they reached the door to the room. She had her arms crossed tightly across her chest, finding it a struggle just to breath, just wanting to be alone so she could breakdown. That was something she refused to do in front of people. She'd done it in front of Jack before and the outcome of it wasn't good. She watched as the man unlocked the door, then stumbled in as he shoved her. She sunk down to the ground, shutting her eyes, listening as the door locked behind her.

All three of them looked at her, Jack rushing over to her. "Kate?" he asked softly, kneeling down beside her. "Hey? Are you okay?" He put his hand on her arm, looking at her, his eyes filled with concern.

Kate closed her eyes, trying to ignore him. She knew how he was looking at her. He looked at everyone like that when he was worried. But there was something different and she tried not to notice it. There was love in his eyes when he looked at her, and she couldn't stand it. "I'm fine." she replied, pulling her arm away, but regretting it. His touch made her feel so much better, but her head too over like it normally did and forced her to push him away from her. How she hated her head. It seemed to have more power than her heart did. It made sure to make her take the easy way out of everything, not matter how much her heart longed for something to grasp onto, that something being Jack. But it would just be too complicated. Sawyer would be mad. She wasn't good enough for Jack. She was barely good enough for Sawyer.

Jack looked slightly hurt, but nodded his head. He didn't know why he hadn't expected that. Kate wasn't the type to say when something was wrong. He just wished she'd tell him what happened. "Alright." he said. He patted her shoulder lightly then stood. "If you need me for anything, I'll be over there." He nodded over to the bed he'd chosen then walked over. There were only three beds and everyone had seemed to claim one while Kate was gone. If Sawyer didn't offer his to her before they went to bed, he'd offer his to her. He didn't want her to have to stay on the floor.

Kate watched him walk away then leaned her head back against the wall and closed her eyes. She pulled her knees to her chest, hugging them tightly, despite the pain she felt. Why did everything have to be like this? Why couldn't she just be there with Jack or with Sawyer? Not with both of them. It made things to hard. Eventually she'd have to chose between them though. Either that or they'd both just leave her. No matter how much she hated to think about it, she'd have to chose.

Jack watched her from his spot on the bed, shaking his head slightly. Why did she have to be so indecisive? It confused him. One minute she liked him more, the next she liked Sawyer, and the next she didn't know. And stubborn too. He didn't even want to get started on that. He loved her though. He loved everything about her no matter how much it bothered him. She wouldn't be Kate without any of those things. "Do you want to sit down on the bed?" he asked. "I can move."

Kate shook her head in response, leaning back against the wall more. She was fine right there on the floor. She didn't want him to have to give up just so she would have somewhere to sit. That wasn't very fair. She sniffled a bit and rubbed her eyes before simply lying down. Rolling onto her back, she stared up at the ceiling, trying to just clear her mind of the day already. Normally that was a weekly thing she did, but today was beginning to be too much to handle for her. Even running from the police wasn't as bad as this.

"Alright." Jack said, frowning again. "Just um…tell me if you want the bed. I don't mind moving." He sighed and looked at the wall, running his hand over his hair slightly. He wondered what time it was. He couldn't remember what time it had been when the got captured, but he figured it was around supper time now. He was beginning to get quite hungry and wondered if they'd even feed them. The only time anyone had ever come in was to take Kate and then to drop her off again. He hoped they at least got something small to eat though. As long as they gave him something edible, he didn't care what it was.

Time passed slowly, and unlike Jack had wanted, no one came to give them food. It didn't even sound as if anyone had walked by the room. He sat up straight as someone finally could be heard coming to their room. The door walked open and a teenage boy looked at them. He sighed boredly and put a tray on the ground. "Twenty minutes until lights out." he said before simply turning and leaving.

Jack looked at the food, sighing slightly. There wasn't much, but they'd have to find a way to split it. A little more than half a coconut and four bottles of water. At least they gave them each a bottle of water for now. He got up and walked over to the food, kneeling down beside it. Picking up the coconut, he slammed it down, cracking it into smaller pieces. He tried to split them up as equally as he could then looked at everyone.

Jessie rubbed her eyes, half asleep. She looked at the food and smiled slightly, starving. Getting up, she walked over to Jack, taking what he handed her. She grabbed a water bottle and headed back over to her bed, putting everything down on it after she lied down on her stomach. "Thanks." she told Jack for splitting it for them. She looked at Sawyer and rolled her eyes. "You don't have a maid here to bring it to you, get up and get it yourself."

Sawyer rolled his eyes. "I'm getting' there, Sunshine." he said. "So howsabout you shut up and mind your own business, eh?" He stood and walked over to Jack, taking some of the coconut and a bottle of water. "You're quiet, Freckles…It's borin' without you talkin'…" he informed her, heading back over to his bed.

Kate shrugged slightly, also taking some food. She wasn't all that hungry, but she knew Jack would make her eat if she didn't take any. "Well it's quite nice without your big mouth." she replied to Sawyer after a few moments, then took a bite of the coconut.

"Little bit late of a comeback, dontcha think?" Sawyer said, rolling his eyes. "And a dumb one at that." He smirked slightly, just trying to get on her nerves. Frustrating people was one of his favorite things to do.

Kate shrugged her shoulders. "I don't care." she told him, her mouth half full. She swallowed then looked at him. "I'm tired and want to go to sleep and, most of all, I want to go home…Comebacks are the last thing that I care about, Sawyer." she informed him.

Sawyer put his hands in the air. "Well alright then." he said with a shrug before he put his hands back down. "Don't gotta get an attitude now, Freckles…"

Kate sighed deeply and shook her head. He just didn't know when to shut his mouth. Turning so he back was facing him, she continued eating in silence.

Jessie looked at Sawyer, frowning at him. "You don't know when to just drop it and leave someone alone, do you?" she asked him, raising her eyebrows.

Sawyer smiled at her, his dimples showing. "I know." he said. "I just don't care." He gave a nod and took a drink then looked back over at her. "What? There a reason your starin' or are your eyes just simply drawn to me for no particular reason?" He arched a brow at her, smirking as she shook her head and turned away. "That's what I thought."

Jessie shook her head slightly and leaned back against her pillow, finishing off her coconut. She licked her fingers, then put the outside shell and her bottle of water on the nightstand for now. Oh how Sawyer bothered her to all ends, not that she'd let it show. That's what he wanted. He wanted to know he was getting on her nerves. Hopefully, if she ignored him, he'd finally give up. Nah. She wasn't that lucky. "Goodnight, Sawyer." she told him, lying down so her back was facing him. He stared at the wall, waiting for the lights to shut off.

Sawyer smirked. "Night, Sugarpop." he said, lying down on his back, putting his stuff beside her's. He smiled to himself and closed his eyes, yawning a bit.

Jack rolled his eyes at them and stood up, looking down at Kate. "You sure you don't want the bed instead of me?" he asked her.

"I'm sure." Kate replied, closing her eyes, planning on just staying on the floor.

Jack nodded slightly, though obviously wasn't happy about her decision. "Well if you change your mind, wake me up." he said. He wasn't sure if he'd sleep tonight anyway though. Not in this place where they had no clue where they were or what was going on. Turning, he walked back over to the bed, lying down right as the lights went off.

Kate sighed inaudibly and snuggled against the cold wall, trying to sleep. She was exhausted after what happened earlier, so it didn't take her all that long to drift off. For about two hours she slept peacefully, before her head began to fill with odd dreams.

_The creature stared into the darkness. The figure was dark, it's features indistinct but disturbing. Malevolent eyes, black pools of hate, glared from it's shadowy face. It wasn't moving, but it's attitude was threatening, like a snake coiled and ready to attack. _

Just behind the monstrous thing, other, similar creatures lurked, half-visible and ominous, quite still, but poised to continue their horrible advance. And behind them weird, indecipherable symbols floated mysteriously. The signs looked like some strange language, impossible to translate.

_They came quietly at first, so quietly that Kate did not so much hear their approach as feel it. She blinked hard, trying with all of her will to peer into the think haze that surrounded her, but nothing revealed itself._

_  
Nothing._

_  
Kate didn't know if she was in a pit or a locked room, or purgatory. All she knew was that she was about to learn something that she very much did not want to know. _

_  
Another sheet of dread draped itself over her soul, and her body nearly convulsed with the trembling brought on by the exquisite agony of unbearable suspense._

_  
She looked around desperately. If she could just see what it was, maybe she could figure out what was after her. If only something would show itself. Even a terrible monster would be better than this awful waiting and wondering. At least then she would know what she had to fight, or what had come to destroy her. As terrifying as the idea was, ignorance was even more terrifying._

_  
Then out of the mists, they almost began to show themselves. A sweep of fabric here, a deepening shadow there. Eyes that did not glow, but were starkly visible nonetheless. Kate covered her face with her hands, but peeked through her fingers, as she had done when she was a child watching a horror film._

_  
The things were all around. Not people, not creatures, just...things. Kate wanted to run, but she had no idea which way to go. And, astonishingly, as much as she was impelled to flee, she felt an even stronger urgency to follow them into the impenetrable mist. She stepped forward, almost unable to believe her own actions. They were leading her, she knew it. They had come for her, and they were taking her to a place that was prepared for her. Kate gasped for air and held her hands before her like a sleep walker._

_  
As she stepped cautiously forward, she heard something that sounded almost like whispering. The deeper into the fog they stepped, the louder the whispering became. It sounded almost like speech, but it was no language Kate had ever heard, or imagined. _

_  
Kate had an indefinable feeling that she had reached her destiny, and stopped walking, although nothing she could see indicated that she had traveled more than a few inches. But she could feel that they were showing her something and when she thought about what they might want her to see, her trembling redoubled, her body jerking as if she had stuck her tongue in an electrical outlet.  
And although the fog did not seem clear, Kate somehow began seeing through it. She now felt that she was in some dark underground chamber of some kind. Before her, the walls were covered with drawings and carvings. Odd shapes. Strange. _

_  
The terrifying figures closed in, surrounding her. They pressed in close but were as horribly indistinct at that proximity as they had been from the start. Perhaps they were wearing robes, Kate thought. Perhaps not. It could be that their bodies were simply flowing and malleable, like cloth._

_  
They were all observing her with their malevolent glares, but one of them seemed to be staring at her in the most meaningful way, as if trying to communicate something profound. Was it's Kate's imagination, or was this one a man? A man with dirty blond hair, and familiar features? How could it be? She couldn't see the others clearly enough to determine even if they were human, much less male or female. But this one was different._

_  
Looking deeply into Kate's eyes, her held something high over his head. Fearfully glancing upward, Kate saw it was a flat circle about a foot in diameter with an intricate design in the middle. She realized that the thing was a talisman of some sort. It seemed to be made of highly polished wood. The man said nothing, but continued to hold the object high with both hands, seemingly willing Kate to understand it's meaning._

Kate snapped awake before she could finish the dream. She sat up quickly, her eyes darting around the room as she gasped for breaths. She was drenched in a cold sweat, her body shaking just as hard as it had been in her dream. She stood and looked around, then quickly stumbled over to Jack's bed, worried that whatever the things in her dream were would be there and get her along the way. Not bothering to wake him up, she quickly scrambled up onto the bed and leaned forward over him, burying her face in his side. She clung to his shirt, beginning to calm down. He seemed to make her feel much safer.

Jack yawned and opened his eyes, glancing at her in confusion. He shifted slightly, though it was hard to go anywhere with her holding onto him. "Here…You can have the bed." he told her, yawning. He went to move, looking at her again when she held onto him tighter, wrapping both of her arms around one of his. "Kate?" he asked, putting his hand on his arm. He found it odd that she was clinging to him. Normally she wasn't like this. As a matter of fact, he never seen her like this. He wrapped his arm around her, trying to get her to stop trembling. "You're okay…" he whispered, sitting up and tugging his arm loose. He wrapped both of his arms around her, looking down at her. "What happened?"

Kate calmed down slightly, resting her head on his shoulder. She took a few breaths then closed her eyes. "It was just a dream." she said quietly, not sure why a dream like that had got her so worked up. She had nightmares all the time and was normally fine. This dream felt different though. It felt very real.

"One heck of a dream, Kate." Jack said, keeping his arms around her. "You okay? You can have the bed if you want…I'll sleep on the floor."

Kate frowned. She opened her mouth for a moment, but then closed it again. Pausing, she opened her eyes. "Could you…I mean…Just for tonight…Would you…" She was cut off by Jack.

"If you want me to stay here with you, I will." Jack told her softly. "Is that what you're trying to ask me to do?"

Kate hesitated, then nodded slightly, frowning. She was being weak and she knew it. Why was she being too chicken to even sleep alone? She hadn't needed to anyone else to sleep in the same bed with her since she was sixteen and had run away to Tom's house, terrified her step dad was going to kill her. Sniffling, she closed her eyes as Jack lied them down.

"Night, Kate." Jack said quietly, closing his eyes. He held her close, beginning to drift back off.

"Night, Jack." Kate whispered back. She snuggled against him. For once, her heart was overpowering her head.


	7. Gelosia

**Chapter 6**

**Gelosia**

"**No man is worth your tears, and the only one who is will never make you cry."**

The rest of the night was peaceful. There were no noises. No nightmares. Just peaceful sleeping. If only the morning could have been quite as nice.

"Mind doin' a bit of explainin' here?" Sawyer broke the silence, glaring at the bed Jack and Kate were in, hoping to wake them up.

"Oh leave them alone, Sawyer." Jessie murmured sleepily, rolling over onto her side. "She had a nightmare. It's not like they did anything. Lighten up."

Sawyer shifted his glare to her, shaking his head slightly. "Don't tell me to lighten up, Sugarpop." he said. "If I were you , I'd shut up and mind my own business."

Jessie sighed, shaking her head. "Just because you're jealous doesn't mean you have to be rude about it." she informed him.

Sawyer frowned even more. "I ain't jealous." he told her. "I just think Freckles deserves someone better than Jack-O." he informed her.

Jessie nodded slightly. "Riiiiight…." she said. "If you say so." She shrugged her shoulders and rolled over so her back was facing him, closing her eyes. He was jealous. It had to be the most obvious thing in the world.

Sawyer already knew how obvious it was he was jealous, though he'd never admit it. Sighing, he shut his eyes, facing the wall. Maybe Kate and Jack were a good couple. That wouldn't stop him from loving her though. He was pretty sure that nothing could stop that. He was silent for a few moments, before he got bored. "I do say so." he informed her. "Freckles deserves someone better than Doc…."

Jessie sighed. She had a feeling she wasn't going to get anymore sleep. Rolling over, she looked at him. "Alright. And how do you get that you're better than Jack?" she asked him, raising her eyebrows.

Sawyer frowned. "Maybe cause I ain't goin' around tryin' to fix every thing that's broken." he replied, tilting his head to the side a bit. "She needs someone who'll care more about her than fixin' things…"

Jessie shrugged. She rolled over slightly and looked over at Jack and Kate, smiling softly. "Looks like he already cares about her a lot." she said, before rolling back over. "Admit it…You're jealous because she's leaning slightly more towards him at the moment…Just like he gets jealous when she's leaning towards you."

Sawyer frowned even more at her. "I ain't jealous…" he said. "I just think that Freckles deserves someone who ain't gonna be constantly tryin' to fix her…She needs someone that'll just accept her for who she is."

Jessie sighed and shook her head, keeping her small smile on her lips. "Whatever you say, Sawyer…Whatever you say…" She rolled over onto her stomach and closed her eyes. "I'm going back to sleep now…Is that okay with you, or are you just goin' to keep talking?"

Sawyer sighed and closed his eyes. He muttered something then shook his head and stayed silent, letting the rest of them sleep. She may have been leaning towards Jack right now, but it never lasted…She always came back to him…Hopefully it would be the same this time.


	8. Non Ritornando

I thought I'd answer some of the questions I've got.

What's going on: You'll find out quite soon. There's a chapter with a very long paragraph that tells most of what's going on.

Who are these people: Yup. That's explained in the same paragraph.

Will Sawyer and Jessie get together: Not so much in this story. They still get on each other's nerves a bit right now. But in next years sequal, most likely. )

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**Chapter 7**

**Non Ritornando**

"**Destiny is not a matter of chance; it is a matter of choice."**

Kate woke up about an hour later, but only because the light had turned on and it was shining in her eyes. She shifted slightly, only to find Jack's arms were still around her. Smiling a bit, she rolled over onto her side, snuggling against him.

Jack looked at her and smirked, wondering if she even realized he was awake. He's been awake for awhile, just lying there and watching her sleep. "Morning…" he whispered softly.

Kate froze for a moment, then stayed snuggled against him. She yawned then smiled again. "Morning." she murmured, her voice thick with sleep. She sighed and kept her eyes closed, enjoying being so close to him.

Jack's smile grew and he continued to watch her. It took him by surprise that she didn't get up and move away from him. He figured she would have gotten upset that she had needed him last night and then gotten up and moved. He smoothed her hair down her back then looked around a bit. No one had come in the room yet. He was hungry, but could wait. He'd rather no one come in and bother anyone them.

"You're warm." Kate mumbled, staying close to him. Somehow in the middle of the night, she'd managed to kick the blankets off the bed, so he was the only thing keeping her warm. Though she preferred him over blankets anyway.

Jack chuckled. He sat up slightly, ignoring her pouting as he did so and reached over her, pulling the blankets back onto the bed. "Better?" he asked, covering them up then wrapping his arms around her again.

Kate smiled and nodded her head. "Much." she replied, holding onto his shirt so he couldn't get up again.

Jack smirked and rolled his eyes. "Is it better because of the blankets or because I lied down again?" he asked. He looked at her, raising his eyebrows when he realized she was pretending to be asleep instead of answering him. "Kate…" he said in a teasing voice. "Kate…" He smirked even more and tickled her side a bit.

Kate let out a laugh and grabbed his hands. "Don't do that." she told him, trying to hide her grin. "That wasn't very nice…"

Jack smirked and shifted slightly, pulling his hands away from her. "Oh…So you're ticklish…" he said, looking at her. He grinned and began tickling her again.

"Jack!" Kate squealed. She laughed and squirmed around, trying to grab hold of his hands again.

Jack smirked and stopped again, looking at her. "So the almighty Kate really is ticklish…" he said with a grin.

Kate stopped laughing and looked at him with a grin. "Jack Shephard, you are not being very nice to me." she informed him, grabbing onto his hands again.

Jack chuckled and glanced over at Jessie and Sawyer. Jessie was looking at them with raised eyebrows, while Sawyer looked quite angry. "I think we have an audience." he whispered to Kate.

Kate bit down on her lower lip, refusing to roll over. Facing Sawyer was definitely not something she wanted to do right at this very moment. "Is he mad?" she whispered back.

Jack nodded slightly, not bothering to glance over at him again. "Yeah…" he said, with a sigh. "You can get up if you want." he informed her, moving slightly, surprised when she grabbed his arm so he couldn't go anywhere.

Kate paused, then shook her head slightly. She really enjoyed lying here right now. They were having fun and he wasn't making fun of her. If she was over with Sawyer, she was sure the fun they would be having was Sawyer picking out things about something to laugh at. Sure, that was fun sometimes, but she was having fun right now with Jack, just lying there and trying to get him to stop tickling her.

Jack shrugged his shoulders slightly and smiled at her. "Whatever you want." he said. He smirked at her and moved to tickle her again.

Kate grabbed his hands again, smirking. "I'd watch it if I were you, Dr. Shephard…You'll be needing a doctor instead of being a doctor." she teased.

"Really now?" Jack asked, smirking at their hands. "You're going to beat me up if I tickle you again?" he asked her.

Kate gave a nod. "Yes, I will." she said with a grin. "And then you're going to have to find someone else to fix you up."

"Awww…You won't fix me up?" Jack asked her. "I think you should have to, considering you're going to be the one that injured me."

Kate rolled her eyes. "Nice try, but no." she said, continuing to grin. "You promise not to tickle me anymore?" she asked, loosening her grip on his hands slightly.

Jack smiled a bit at her and nodded his head. "Alright, alright…" he said. "I promise not to tickle you anymore…" He looked at his hands as she let go of them.

"Good." Kate said. She smiled and crossed her arms, looking up at him. "Cause I really didn't want to have to beat you up." She smirked and him and rolled over onto her stomach, closing her eyes.

Jack chuckled and rolled his eyes. He didn't say anything though, just incase she decided she would beat him up, just to prove it to him that she could. And he believed that she really could beat him up.

Kate opened her eyes and smiled at him once more. She looked at him, scooting closer to him. She knew Sawyer was mad, but she couldn't help it. She was beginning to realize who she wanted to be with, and Sawyer wasn't that person. Jack was. Her heart was finally taking control.

"What?" Jack asked, looking at her with a smirk. "You trying to decide whether to make me crippled or something?"

Kate laughed and shook her head. "No…and even if I was, I'd wouldn't tell you." She grinned at him. "I'd let it be a surprise."

Jack chuckled and rolled his eyes. "Oh thank you…" he said, shaking his head slightly. "I appreciate that you wouldn't tell me…Why would I want to even know before you beat me up?" He smirked and winked at her.

Kate laughed softly and shook her head. "I won't beat you up." she assured him. "I'll be nice to you…unless you try and tickle me again."

Jack grinned and shook his head at her. "You're something." he said, teasingly acting like he was going to tickle her, then pulling his hands away.

Kate grinned and quickly covered his sides and stomach. "Oh yeah?" she asked. "And what exactly is that something?"

"I don't know…" Jack said. His smiled faded as the door opened and he noticed the man, that wasn't exactly the nicest person to Kate the day before, walk in.

The man smirked and looked around at them. "Get up." he said after a moment. "It's time for breakfast and then you're being separated…There will be two of you to a cell…Now let's get going."

The four of them all glanced around at each other. Separated? Two to a cell? A cell? Like a prison cell? Who would be paired with who? Slowly, they all got up and followed the man out of the room.


	9. Rotto

**Wow. Sorry it took all day for me to update. I took a nap and then whoosh, all my cares for the day were forgotten. But yeah. So...here's the chapter. **

**Just so ya know, I love reviews. The more reviews I get, the more anxious I am to update for you guys. **

**And incase you're wondering how I'm doing, I'm really stuck on chapter 21. I have 42,700 words and major writers block. I'm sure something will come to me though.**

* * *

**Chapter 8**

**Rotto**

"**Now it's cold and we're scared and we've both been shaken."**

They were led down a long hallway that contained nothing but grey doors, white walls, and a white floor. It kind of resembled the hallway in a doctor's office, only much more creepier. The four of them stayed close as the followed the man, not wanting to get separated. All of them looked at least a little bit frightened of the place, having no idea what was going to happen to them while they were in it, or even why there were in it to begin with.

Jack looked around, shaking his head slightly. He glanced at Kate, then gently took her hand and laced their fingers.

Kate snapped out of her thoughts and looked down at their hands. The blank look on her face turned into a small smile for a few moments and she gently squeezed his hand. The blank look returned though as they stopped at a door at the end of the hallway.

The man glanced back at them, then turned towards the door. He pulled a key ring out of his pocket and looked through a few of the keys, finally grabbing hold of one. He put it in the lock and unlocked the door then opened it for them. "There you are." he said, motioning for them to go in.

Sawyer glared at him, then hesitantly took a step in the room, slowly followed by the other three. He glanced around in disgust and shook his head. They couldn't be eating here. It wasn't sanitary. It was a grey cafeteria like room full of broken chairs and tables. Dust and cobwebs were all over and he was sure he saw a cockroach scurry across the floor. There was a place where they could get food and the food looked even worse than the room. That too was gray and it looked just liked ripped up paper soaked in water until it was nothing but mush. It smelled horrible too. "We ain't eatin' that."

"You don't have a choice." The man replied simply. "You either eat it, or we torture one of you until you eat it." He glanced over at Kate and smirked at her.

Kate looked down and squeezed Jack's hand again, hoping somehow he could persuade Sawyer to just shut up and listen for once. But to her surprise, for once, Sawyer shut up and listened all by himself.

Noticing him glance at Kate, Sawyer sighed and walked over, grabbing a bowl of the mush. He shook his head and sat down on the floor with it, poking at it. "Well ain't this just peachy." he muttered under his breath. He glanced at the other three, wondering if they were going to try and eat it too.

Jessie slowly walked over to the food and picked up a bowl. She looked down at it in disgust, trying not to gag. Slowly, she walked until she was a few feet away from Sawyer and sat down, placing the bowl in front of her. She was not going to be the first to taste this stuff.

Jack shook his head, looking at the food. As a doctor, he knew that this stuff couldn't be healthy for them. It wouldn't even take a doctor to figure that out. A monkey could have figured that out. The garbage can probably wouldn't even take that stuff. He had to eat it for the safety of the others though. Letting go of Kate's hand, he walked over and grabbed a bowl, then sat down on the ground, looking at Kate.

Kate shifted slightly, trying to figure out whether to be stubborn or not. Deciding being tortured was not something she wanted to do today, she walked over and grabbed a bowl then sat down by Jack. "So…Who's gonna eat it first?" she asked quietly.

Sawyer looked at the three of them then rolled his eyes. "Well don't all volunteer at once…" he said, sarcastically. He looked at the food in disgust then figured it'd be best to just get it over with. He held his nose and tilted his head back again, then brought the bowl up to his mouth and let the mush slide down his throat. He then put the bowl down and closed his eyes, trying his best not to gag. The stuff was even worse than it looked.

Jack followed his lead and did that same thing. He made a face and stopped halfway, not sure if he could even finish it. The sooner he did it, the quicker it'd be over with though. The sickening taste hopefully wouldn't last that long. He ate the rest of it, then stared at the ground. It made his throat and stomach burn. He would have much rather gone without breakfast. Glancing up after a few moments, he looked at the two girls that were just sort of staring at the 'food'. He sighed and put his hand on Kate's back. "Just get it over with…" he said, looking at her.

Kate glanced at him, then back down at the bowl. She closed her eyes, then sighed, once again feeling defeated. In the end, she'd make sure these people paid for making her feel like this. Picking up the bowl, she held it against her lips, then ate it as fast as she could. She put the bowl down and crossed her arms, closing her eyes. She took deep breaths, feeling Jack's hand rubbing her back. After a moment, she opened her eyes again. Leaning against him, she frowned, not wanting to ever eat that junk again.

Jessie still stared at the bowl, shifting uncomfortably under the man's gaze. She wouldn't eat that. She couldn't eat that. She felt sick just looking at the stuff. Frowning, she crossed her arms and shook her head, her chin beginning to quiver. Why were they making them do something like this? "I'm not going to eat that." she whispered, her voice shaking.

The man looked at her and shook his head. "Are you sure about that?" he asked her, raising his eyebrows. "That's probably not a very good choice…One of your little friends is going to get horribly hurt if you don't eat."

Jessie looked at the ground sadly and shook her head. She wasn't sure if she could put up with herself, knowing that someone got hurt and she could have easily stopped it. Picking up the bowl with shaking hands, she refused to even glance at anyone else. Taking a deep breath and holding it, she quickly at the food, putting the bowl down when she was done. She pressed her hands to her eyes, shaking her head slightly.

The man rolled her eyes with her and called her a name under his breath. "Come on…I'm taking you to where you're going to be staying now." he informed them. "And I don't have all day, so hurry up." He looked at them and crossed his arms, then headed towards the door.

Jack stood up, keeping an arm around Kate. "You alright?" he asked, his throat sounding kind of scratchy from the food.

Kate nodded her head slightly. "Yeah…" she replied quietly. "I think I'm okay…" She continued to lean against him, even as they followed the man out of the room.

Sawyer stood, then glanced down at Jessie. He looked around then sighed. Reaching down, he took her hands and pulled her up. "Come on." he muttered, then turned and followed the rest of them out.

Jessie kept her eyes glued to the ground. She crossed her arms and slowly followed them, not liking this place at all. She'd rather be back at the beach right now, working on a painting or something like that. Sniffling, she wiped a few tears off of her cheeks with her arm and continued to follow, wondering who she'd be stuck with in a cell. She'd be happy with anyone except Sawyer.

They headed back up the hallway they'd come down, but stopped before they got to the end. The man led them through one of the doors and into another long hallway. This one was much different though. It was all dark gray and lined with dozens and dozens of what looked to be like prison cells. Or maybe they were slightly like cages. Most of them were filled. Some contained children, some adults, some a mixture of both. The entire place smelled of rotting bodies and it was obvious that these people could care less about the living conditions of their prisoners. Deceased people had not been removed from any of the cages and were just left the rot. Some people were coughing and looking quite sickly. Others were looking scared or crying.

Kate looked around as she walked, tears filling her eyes at the sight. This was only a place that would have been imagined in her most horrible nightmares. Her eyes landed on several of the children, ranging from what looked like weeks old to teenagers. Her arms wrapped around one of Jack's arm and she buried her face in his shirt, not being able to look anymore as she walked. And to think. This was what their lives were going to be like now.

The man stopped about halfway down the hallway and unlocked one of the cells. He opened it up, ignoring the creaking noise it made. "You two." he said, nodding towards Kate and Jack. "You'll be staying right here." He held the cell door open with his foot, watching the two carefully as they slowly made their way in. He shut the door behind them and locked it, making sure they couldn't get out.

Sawyer watched as they walked in, frowning. Great. Kate and Jack got put together. Now he was stuck with Jessie. Crossing his arms, he followed the man down the hall even more, looking even more unhappy than he had been before. "You better watch it, Zeke." he muttered, brushing past the man as he walked in the cell that was meant for them.

The man rolled his eyes and shook his head a bit. "You goin' in too, or do I gotta throw ya in?" he asked, looking at Jessie.

Jessie walked a bit faster, flinching as the door slammed shut behind her. She sat down in the corner and pulled her knees to her chest, burying her face in them as she hugged them tightly. This was just wonderful. She already felt sick from the 'food' and now the smell and the horrible sights here were making it even worse. Her stomach hurt, and that was beginning to make her head her. And now that her head hurt, she was getting a bit scared, making it even worse. Her medicine she used for migraines was back at the beach, and without it, things wouldn't be good.

Sawyer glanced at her, then looked down, staying silent. He sighed and leaned back against the wall, closing his eyes. He found it hard to ignore her though. He could hear her quiet crying, but how was he supposed to know what to do? He wasn't perfect Jack-O who knew how to do everything. He wasn't really a people person like Jack was. Shifting slightly, he glanced over at her again. "You okay?" he asked.

"Why would you care?" Jessie asked quietly, her voice thick with tears. Why would he care? The only things he cared about were Kate and insulting people. Why in the world would he care about whether she was okay or not?

Sawyer looked at her, blinking a few times. Yeah. He needed to come up with a good answer for that one, not really sure himself why he was caring right now. Ignoring her question, he hesitantly scooted over to her. "Is that a yes…or a no?" he asked her.

Jessie paused for a moment, not even acting like she had heard him. After a moment, she let out a sob and shook her head. "I need to go back to camp." she cried, beginning to shake slightly.

Sawyer looked at her, frowning when he noticed her shaking. "Well we all need to go back to camp." he replied, raising his eyebrows at her.

Jessie shook her head, signaling that that wasn't what she meant. "I have medicine back at camp…in Jack's stash." she cried. "He keeps it there so I don't accidentally lose it when I'm walking around."

Sawyer nodded slightly, staring at her. "Medicine…" he said, nodding slightly. "Medicine for what?" he asked her. "I got some uh…Aspirin in my pocket…"

"For…for my head." Jessie told him, moving her hand up to the right side of her head. "It hurts…" She held her hand out slightly as if asking for some of the Aspirin.

Sawyer reached in his pocket and pulled out the bottle. He normally carried it around incase his arm hurt, but the gunshot wound was all healed now. He opened it and emptied it into his hand. There was only one left. He sighed slightly and handed it to her. "I don't got any water…" he informed, looking at her sadly.

Jessie shook her head a bit. Water was the last thing she cared about right now. She put the pill in her mouth and swallowed it without any water. She hoped it would work. Her medicine was a lot stronger than aspirin, being specifically made for migraines. She crossed her arms again, leaning her head forward against her knees. If anything, it would hopefully at least make the pain bearable.

Sawyer looked at her and frowned. It would have been better if they put her in a cell with Jack. He was a doctor. He knew how to fix things. Sawyer had no clue about things even as simple as migraines. When he had them, he couldn't fix them and all he needed was glasses. It took the most embarrassing 'doctor's appointment' with Jack to figure that out. And Kate just /had/ to sit in and listen. He glanced around, then put his hand on the right side of her head, rubbing her temple gently.

Jessie scooted closer to him. She sat down right in front of him, letting him rub her head for her. She was quite surprised he was even trying to help her. She would have expected him to be on the other side of the room, totally ignoring her.

Sawyer surprised himself by helping her out like this. He wasn't completely heartless though. He just didn't like to show that he really did care. It didn't matter though. The were locked up all alone in this tiny little cell. Who was there to know he really did have a heart but Jessie? He moved so his legs were spread out straight and gently pulled her down so she could rest her head on one of them. He continued to rub the side of her head, occasionally glancing down at her.

Jessie slowly lied herself down, hurting to bad to care that this was Sawyer, the ultimate annoyance her in pathetic life here on this island. She wrapped her arms around one of his arms, burying her face in his shirt sleeve. "It hurts." she told him, her voice thick with tears.

Sawyer looked down at her, nodding slightly. "Yeah, I know it does." he said, then glanced around. "It'll pass…" He wasn't sure how long it would take for her headache to go away, but he knew that eventually it would. "Just try to get some sleep."

Jessie closed her eyes tightly, but sleep definitely wasn't going to come. She tightened her grip on his arm, shaking her head a bit.

Kate wasn't having much luck with feeling well either. She was curled up on Jack's lap, staring tiredly at the wall. Her stomach hurt like crazy and she was struggling not to be sick, the smell of the cells making it even worse. Leaning her head against Jack's shoulder, she began to think of what was probably happening back at the beach. Were they getting along okay without them? Did they need Jack at all? "Do you think everyone else is okay?" she asked quietly, glancing up at him.

Jack looked down at her, being snapped out of his thoughts. He paused a moment to think. He wasn't sure. He hoped everyone was okay. He sighed and looked at her, not wanting to worry her. "Everyone is probably fine…" he said. "They have Sayid and John…They can take care of everyone until we get back." he told her.

Kate nodded slightly and looked down again. She wasn't sure whether to believe him or not. "Alright." she said quietly, crossing her arms. She twiddled her thumbs, hating to be locked up in this cage. It was just as bad as being in prison, where she should have been right now. Closing her eyes, she wrapped her arms around his torso. "Jack?" she said quietly.

Jack looked down at her again. "Yeah, Kate?" he replied, shifting slightly.

Kate hesitated for several moments before speaking again. "I want to tell you what I did." she said quietly, opening her eyes to look up at him.

Jack blinked a few times. "Kate, I don't…" he tried to talk, but she cut him off.

"I don't know what's going on with us, if we're just friends or more, but I think you should know why I was being taken back to the states to go to jail before the plane crashed…" Kate told him. She felt that he deserved to know why she was on the run.

Jack sighed and looked at the floor before looking at her again. "Alright." he said with a nod. "But whatever you tell me, will not ruin how I feel about you."

"I know." Kate told him, nodding her head. "I still think you should know." She closed her eyes, trying to think of where to start. The beginning was always good. "When I was five, my mom and my dad got divorced." she told him quietly, knowing that retelling these memories was going to be painful for her. "My mom remarried this guy named Wayne. For the first day or two he was at her house, he was this really nice guy, but then he started getting drunk. Every night he would go out to bars and come home completely trashed, and then during the day he'd drink too. At first he just sat in his chair and watched TV. He didn't even talk to us. But one day my mom was talking to him and he shoved her. Everything went crazy from there." She swallowed hard and looked up at him.

Jack looked down at her, showing that he was listening to her. "You don't have to go on if you don't want to." he told her softly.

Kate shook her head. "I want to." she told him quietly. She looked away from him again and continued talking. "At first it was just my mom…but then he started coming into my room and night and told me if I ever told anyone, he'd kill me and my mom." She closed her eyes. "I was just a little kid…I thought everything was normal. I didn't know him hurting us was wrong. But then I started going to school with bruises, and one time, my teacher called home about them and I couldn't even get up to go to school the next day it was so bad. And no one did anything. They just pretended like nothing was happening, because I was too afraid to admit what was going on."

Jack frowned, shaking his head slightly. He wanted to go beat that man's head in right now.

"I tried to run away from him, from Wayne, but he always caught me. He always found a way to get me back to the house. My dad, Sam, tried to get custody of me, but Wayne forced my mom to fight for me and she won…" Kate sniffled. "I spent most of my time and my friend Tom's house, just trying to stay away from my own, but one day, when after I moved out, Wayne broke my mom's wrist…And I couldn't take it anymore. I went to his house and waited for him to get home from the bar. I made sure my mom was at work, then I helped him into bed. I let the gas on, then left, and the house blew up. I just blew him up. Just like that." She choked on a sob. "I went to say goodbye to my mom and and she turned me in. She called the cops on me. And then I went to say goodbye to my dad. He had to keep his job in the army, so he called them too, but he gave me an hour to run, and I got away. I ran for awhile, before before I got this letter in the mail saying my mom was diagnosed with cancer. I couldn't just leave her to die alone. So I called Tom and asked him to get me in to see her, because he worked as a doctor at the hospital." Tears began running down her face as she choked on Tom's name. She had to pause to calm herself down.

Jack rubbed his hand up and down her back. So far he didn't blame her for what happened. He would have blown the guy up too. "Kate, you can stop…" he told her softly again, looking at her in concern. She was too lost in her memories to stop though.

"And so I went back, and before we went to the hospital, we stopped and unburied the time capsule we mad when we were kids, and we kept the stuff that was in it. And then we just went to the hospital…and when we got there, I went to see my mom but she, but she started screaming for help, so I ran. And I got in Tom's car and he followed me. I told him over and over to get out, but he wouldn't listen to me, so I took off. And then they shot at me, but the missed and hit him. And he died…He died because of me. He died. And I loved him. So much. I had to leave his toy plane in the car, because I had to go before they caught me." Kate buried her face in his hands. "They took the plane and they put it in a safety deposit box in Australia, and I found out which one. So I seduced some guy named Jason and had him and his friends help me get it. We made a promise that no one would get hurt, but he lied, and he tried to shoot the manager. So I shot him, got the plane, and ran…but later on the marshal finally caught me…" She buried her face in his shirt. "I'm sorry…" She sobbed hysterically into his chest, shaking her head.

Jack looked at her sadly. "It's not your fault, Kate…" he whispered, stroking her hair as he began to rock her slightly. "It's not your fault…" He rubbed her back, trying to calm her down. "Shh…" he soothed.

Kate continued to shake her head, holding onto his shirt. His comfort helped slightly, but she felt horrible. Absolutely horrible. After a moment or so, she pulled away, turning her head away from him. "Why would you want someone like me?" she asked him. "Someone who did horrible things…Someone torn and broken…? Why would you even want to be friends with me?"

Jack wiped the tears off of her cheeks. "Because no matter how you feel about yourself, I think that you are wonderful." he told her. "A little torn and broken, yes, but still wonderful."

Kate continued to shake her head, though began trying to calm herself down. Crying is not a good thing when you're feeling sick though. She crawled away from him and to another part of the cell, holding her stomach as she stayed on her knees and leaned forward, her face going sheet white.

Jack quickly followed her, sitting down behind her. He rubbed her back and pulled her hair back away from her face, trying to comfort her as she emptied the contents of her stomach onto the floor. He could tell she was going to get sick sometime by the way she was holding her stomach while she was sitting on his lap, though was just glad she didn't have to suffer through her stomach hurting her for too long. When she was finished, he wiped her mouth off and gently pulled her onto his lap, scooting back to where they'd been sitting before. He shifted so they could both be comfortable and rubbed her back, letting her bury her face in his shoulder, trying to soothe her as she cried. "It's okay, Honey…" he whispered, rocking her back and forth. "You're okay, Hun. It's okay. Try and get some sleep and you'll feel better when you wake up."

Kate kept her arms crossed over her stomach for a moment, then wrapped them around him. She closed her eyes, crying quietly into his shirt, staining it with her tears. She'd apologize for that later. Right now she just wanted him to hold her. She still didn't feel well, but she felt slightly better now, both because she'd gotten sick and because she'd finally told him what she did and he still accepted her.

"Shhh…" Jack continued to try and soothe her. "Go to sleep, Hun…" he whispered. He knew that it wasn't even lunch time yet, but she hadn't even had a peaceful night of sleep the night before. He smoothed her hair down her back, listening as her sobs tapered off and she slowly began to drift off to sleep.


	10. Comunicando con fantasmi

**Chapter 9**

**Comunicando con fantasmi**

"**Truly great friends are hard to find, difficult to leave, and impossible to forget."**

Kate slept for quite awhile, not moving away from Jack. After a few hours, she began to shift slightly, hearing a male voice calling her name. The voice was familiar, but it wasn't Jack's voice. Her eyes quickly opened and she looked around, finding no one else in the room but Jack.

Jack looked down at her and smiled softly, realizing she was waking up. "Are you feeling any better?" he asked her.

Kate glanced up at him. She closed her eyes and leaned her head against his shoulder, nodding slightly. "Who was calling me a few moments ago?" she asked, her voice still sounding tired.

Jack gave her a confused look. "No one." he said. "No one's even been in here but me, and I was half asleep."

"Oh…" Kate replied, rubbing her head. "I must have been dreaming." she told him, stifling a yawn.

Jack nodded his head slightly. "Yeah, because no one was talking…" he told her.

"Katie…" The voice called again. It was definitely a male's voice, and sounded very familiar to her. It was a bit slurred though and had a weird echo sound to it, sort of like a dream voice, but Kate wasn't sleeping.

Kate frowned and looked around again. "I heard it again." she told him, shifting on his lap so she was leaning back against him and could look around better.

Jack looked down at her. "Kate, I can't hear anything…" he told her, shaking his head slightly. "Are you sure you're feeling better? Does your head hurt? Do you feel dizzy or anything?"

"I feel fine." Kate assured him, beginning to frown. "I just hear someone calling my name."

"Katie…It's me…Tom." The voice said.

Kate froze. That's why it sounded do familiar. It was Tom's voice. "Tom?" she stuttered, looking around.

Jack looked down at her, his brows furrowing in concern. "Kate." he said softly. "No one is talking."

Kate ignored him, moving off of his lap. "Tom?" she asked, her eyes stinging with tears. "Where are you?" she asked him.

"Hey, Katie…" Tom's voice replied. "I'm right here. You just can't see me." He sighed. "Are you okay?"

Kate blinked a few times, ignoring his question. "Why can't I see you?" she asked. "Why can't Jack hear you?"

Jack shook his head slightly, watching her closely. Why was she talking to her dead friend? Surely, he wasn't talking back to her. Maybe she was just so upset, she was hallucinating. He sat back and watched her, not sure what to do.

Tom sighed once more. "Because, Katie." he replied. "Are you okay?" he repeated, sounding worried. "Eventually, they might let you out of here."

Kate frowned. "Why are we here?" she asked. "What's the point of this place? Why can't we just go back to camp? And no, no I'm not okay. I'm trapped in this place."

"I know you're stuck here." Tom told her. "And I can't exactly give you all the answers, but sooner or later, you'll find out. I've checked their files for you. They don't plan on keeping the four of you for two long."

"Files on us?" Kate asked. "What's that supposed to mean?" She crossed her arms, wishing she could see him, could feel him. She missed him so much.

"Files. Like, um, files on everything that happened in your life. All you did, about the people around you, everything about you." Tom replied quietly.

Kate nodded slightly, though wasn't sure whether he could see her or not. Files? On her? On everything about her? Why would they want those? Were they going to use them and then send her off to jail? She hoped not. Thought at the moment, she was sure jail would be a whole lot better than being locked up in this place. "Tom." she said quietly after a moment. "I really miss you." She looked around again, just incase she might possibly catch a glimpse of him.

"I know, Katie." Tom told her. "But don't worry. I will always be with you. Whenever you miss me, just remember I'm watching over you, okay?"

Kate nodded again. "If you can talk to me and stuff, then why can't you come back and be with me?" she asked, her voice quivering. "I need you."

"Katie, I'm dead." Tom told her. "I can't come back. And plus, you have Jack. He loves you and he'll take care of you. He's a good man."

Kate closed her eyes, shaking her head. "But it isn't the same." she whispered. "I'm sorry I killed you."

"Katie, it isn't your fault." Tom told her. "It was the police man. He shouldn't have shot while I was in the car. And you know what? He was kicked off the police force for doing it. I have to go now. I just wanted to let you know, that you'll be okay and you'll get out of here soon."

"Wait! Are you coming back?" Kate asked him.

"I don't know." Tom replied. "Just behave yourself and stop running." he told her. "I love you, okay?"

"I love you too." Kate whispered. A light breeze suddenly made it's way across the room and then everything felt normal again. She crossed her arms tightly and looked down, knowing that Jack probably thought she was crazy. But she wasn't. Tom had been talking to her. He really had been.

"Kate." Jack said with a sigh, not sure what to think. If they were somewhere off the island, of course he would have thought she was crazy. But not here. Everyone had seen things, heard things, witnessed things here that they would have never been able to somewhere else. He closed his eyes for a moment, then looked at her. "What did he say?" he asked.

Kate turned and looked at him, a bit surprised by his response. She figured he would have asked her if she was okay again then try to get her to lie down. "He um…He said we wouldn't be here long." she said, nodding slightly. She was going to bring up about Jack loving her, but didn't want to make him uncomfortable. Plus, how did Tom know how Jack felt about her? "He just um…asked if I was okay and stuff. And they said that they have files that have everything about us on them here." She nodded her head again.

Jack nodded his head a bit. "Files…" he said, thinking about it. "Kind of like the Others had?" he asked her.

Kate shrugged her shoulders. "I guess." she said, looking up at him. "He just said that they had files and that they had everything about us, like what we did and about the people that have been around us." She scooted over closer to him.

"Sounds like they're wanna be Others." Jack said, smiling slightly as she moved closer to him. "Just a little more violent and odd."

Kate shrugged again. "Unless the Others are wanna be Thems…" she replied.

Jack smirked. "Thems?" he asked her. "That's not even a word."

Kate frowned and crossed her arms. "Why does it matter if it's a word or not? What else are we supposed to call them?"

Jack shrugged his shoulders. "Alright. We'll call them Thems…" he told her, still smirking a bit.

Kate gave a nod. "Good." she said. She leaned against him, resting her head on his shoulder. "Think Sawyer and Jessie are okay?" she asked him.

Jack glanced down at her and nodded his head. "Probably." he said. "They're probably just sitting around in their cell like we are."

Kate nodded slightly. "Probably." she said quietly. "Think Sawyer's giving her a hard time?" she asked him.

Jack arched a brow at her. "Who doesn't he give a hard time?" he asked.

Kate paused for a moment. "Good point." she replied.


	11. Amico

**Chapter 10**

**Amico**

"**The worst pain is when someone you know turns into someone you knew."**

Jessie shifted slightly, the pain in her head slowly subsiding. She was afraid to get up though, not wanting to hear one of Sawyer's smart comments. Smart comments, sarcasm, rudeness; they were things she was never really good with. She knew they were a part of life and tried to deal with them as best as she could, but she hated those things. She wasn't going to say she never used them though, because that would be a lie. If you made her angry, she'd use them. Jessie was one of those people it was hard to make angry though. She was one of those people that tried her best to ignore the people that were bothering her instead of bothering them back. Sometimes it worked, but sometimes it didn't. Only when it didn't, did she get really mad. Sawyer was one of those people that were simply impossible to ignore. She found it odd that she'd dealt with him this long without flipping her lid.

Sawyer stared blankly at the wall, gently stroking her hair. This was very awkward for him, and he wondered if it was for her too. He preferred the tough conman look over the sweet gentleman. He was better at the tough conman thing too. Somehow, this whole comforting thing was just coming to him naturally though, sort of like instinct. He found it odd and quite strange, but at the same time -though he'd never admit it- kinda nice. "Feelin' any better?" he asked after several moments of silence.

Jessie nodded slightly. "I guess so." she replied quietly. Slowly, she sat up and gave him a small smile. "Thanks for um, well for doing that." she told him.

Sawyer nodded slightly and looked away from her. "Yeah, well, don't expect it too much." he replied simply.

Typical Sawyer. Jessie sighed and shook her head a bit. "Well, thanks for doing it just this once." she told him, scooting over to the nearest corner. "It was nice of you."

Sawyer nodded his head slightly. He looked around, then down at the ground, not really sure what to say to her.

Jessie smiled slightly, then also looked down. She straightened out her red shirt, examining a slight rip that was in the front of it. Most of her clothes were tore and dirty, thanks to living on an island. Her dark blue jeans were ripped at both knees, and had a slight tear at the bottom right pants leg. She'd never really been one for caring about how her clothes looked, but that was only because back in civilization it was always possible to buy new clothes. How was she supposed to get new clothes here?

Sawyer glanced up at her, watching her as she looked at the rip in her shirt. "Don't worry 'bout it, Sunshine…" he said. "We'll get outa here before it rips too much."

Jessie nodded her head slightly, crossing her arms over her stomach. "I hope so." she said. "My stomach is really cold because of the tear."

Sawyer smiled slightly. "Well ya can't have my shirt." he said. "Cause then I'd be freezing."

"I didn't ask for your shirt." Jessie replied, leaning back against the wall. "Your shirt is ugly anyway."

Sawyer frowned and looked down at his tan button down shirt. "What's wrong with my shirt?" he asked her.

Jessie smirked and shook her head. "Nothing.' she told him. "It's just not something I would wear…" she said. "I don't like it."

Sawyer rolled his eyes. "Well I ain't fond of your shirt either." he informed her, glancing up at her. "There ain't nothing wrong with my shirt." He gave a nod, his hair falling in his face. He sighed and blew it out of the way.

"I saw when Kate gave you a haircut." Jessie said. "I guess she didn't make it short enough."

Sawyer frowned. "I don't want it no shorter." he replied, running his hand through his hair. "I like it just like this."

Jessie shrugged her shoulders. "If it was shorter it wouldn't get in your eyes." she told him.

"Well maybe I don't care if it's in my eyes or not." Sawyer replied.

Jessie shrugged again. "Then don't care. I was just saying." she said. She smiled at him slightly and shook her head a bit. She looked up as the door opened and another man, that most likely worked there, walked in.

The man looked at them, smirking slightly. He reached in his pocket, pulling out an envelope. "Funny…You didn't even know this was missing, James…" he said, looking it over. "Guess you didn't miss it all that much."

Sawyer looked up at him, narrowing his eyes at him. His hands balled into fists and he stood up. "Give me that." he said in a threatening voice to show he wasn't playing around.

Jessie blinked a few times. James? She'd always thought Sawyer was his actual name. And that envelope, she'd seen if before. He used to read it all the time on the beach. She stayed quiet, watching the two carefully.

The man looked at the envelope. "Nah. I think I'll keep it." he said. He went to shove it back in his pocket, but his wrist was grabbed by Sawyer.

Sawyer glared at him. "Give. It. Back." he said, tightening his grip on his wrist.

The man grabbed Sawyer's wrist, holding it tightly. "Boy, you better leave go of me, or you're gonna be hurting…" he warned him.

Sawyer rolled his eyes. "Give me the letter back." he said.

The man shoved him away and opened the letter. He cleared his throat. "Dear Mr. Sawyer…" he started.

Sawyer slammed his fist into his stomach and grabbed the letter, throwing it away from him. He glared at him, ready to fight him even more.

The man held his stomach for a moment. He then stood up and attacked Sawyer, trying his best to beat him.

Jessie's eyes went wide and she watched the fight. She grabbed Sawyer's letter and stood, backing herself further into the corner. Tears began to fill her eyes as the man began to win. Sawyer dropped to the ground, then man beating him, and all she could do was stand there and watch.

The man finally had Sawyer down. He reached in his back pocket and pulled out a gun. Taking it off safety, he pointed it to Sawyer's head, then looked over at Jessie. "You think you could stand if I shot him right here in front of your eyes, Sweetheart?" he asked.

Jessie stared wide-eyed, tears streaming down her face. "Leave him alone." she whispered. "Just, just leave him alone. Please."

"Why?" The man asked. "Give me one reason why I should." she told her.

Jessie racked her brain, trying to think of a reason. What good was Sawyer? What good had he done for anyone? What good had he done to anyone? She closed her eyes, taking her only answer. "Because he's my only friend." she told him. "Please. If you want to kill someone, kill me." she told him. "I'd rather die myself. Just don't kill him."

The man rolled his eyes. "So I should spare his life for your selfish reason?" he asked. "Because you have no other friends? Because you're so worthless the only friend you can get is him?"

Jessie crossed her arms. She swallowed hard. "Please. Don't kill him." she pleaded, shaking her head. "Please."

The man rolled his eyes. He pointed the gun and shot out of the cell, the bullet hitting someone in the cell across from them.

Jessie squeezed her eyes shut, putting her hands over her ears. She didn't even noticed as the man left the cell. She felt Sawyer's hand on her arm and sat down on his lap as he pulled her down. She leaned forward against him and wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in his shoulder. At least the two of them were safe. Who had been shot obviously wasn't. She was too terrified and felt too horrible to even look and see who the person was.

Sawyer wrapped his arms around her for a moment. He then pulled back and gently took his letter from her. He put it in his pocket, then wrapped his arms around her once more, hugging her tightly. He also closed his eyes, trying to imagine everyone back at the beach. "Ya shoulda let him kill me, Sunshine." he said. "It's every man for himself around here."

Jessie shook her head. "It's live together, die alone…" she replied, her voice a small whisper. "Are you okay? Did he hurt you really bad?"

"I've been through worse." Sawyer replied. "I got beat I don't know how many times when the Others had me. Freckles has beat me quite a few times."

Jessie nodded slightly. "I'm glad you're okay, Sawyer." she said quietly, pulling back to glanced up at him. He didn't look too horrible. He'd blocked all the punches with his arms, she noticed. Her eyes slowly made their way outside the cell and over to the one across from them. "Oh my…" she whispered, her hand going up over her mouth. Her eyes stayed glued to the man who had been shot, a toddler leaning over him, sobbing for him to wake up.

"Hey." Sawyer said. He put his hands on the sides of her face, turning it so she was looking at him. "Don't look over there." he said, not wanting her head to start hurting again. He was all out of medicine. "You stay focused on what happens in here and what happens in here only. "You got it?"

Jessie stared at him a moment, then nodded slightly. "Alright." she whispered. "But, what about the little kid?" she asked quietly.

"Don't worry about it." Sawyer told her. "You didn't know them. You stay focused on the people that you know. There's too much going on here to focus on everyone else."

Jessie nodded slightly. "I still feel bad." she said quietly. "But I guess there's no greater pain than someone you know becoming someone you knew…It's not that bad when you didn't actually know them."

Sawyer nodded his head slightly. He sighed and tried not to glance over at the other cell. "And know one we know is gonna die." he informed her. "The four of us are gonna be out of here before we know it."

Jessie nodded slightly, trying to believe him. "Okay." she told him with a sigh. "The four of us are gonna get out of here." She sighed and closed her eyes, leaning forward against him again.

Sawyer closed his eyes, nodding his head. Maybe if they both believe it, then it would really happen. He wasn't sure he believed himself though. If no one else got out of here, then how were they supposed to get out of there? They were trapped in a cage by people with guns who most likely weren't afraid to use them. Sighing, he opened his eyes again and looked down at Jessie.

Jessie wasn't sure if she believed him either. She had to though. She couldn't just give up hope. If they gave up hope, then they definitely wouldn't get out of here. She forced herself to believe what he said. "Maybe we should think of a plan." she said after a moments thought.

Sawyer shrugged his shoulders. "Docs probably already got one." he said. "He'll use his before we'll get one."

"Well, it'll at least give us something to do." Jessie told him. "And what if Jack doesn't have a plan? We don't know if he has one or not. It's worth a try to try and make one ourselves." She glanced up at him slightly, turning her head.

Sawyer shrugged his shoulders. He figured Jack already had a plan. But who knew if Jack was even alive? They probably should start thinking of a plan to get out of this place. "Alright." he said after a moment. "Got any thoughts?"

Jessie shrugged her shoulders. "Not really." she said quietly. "How about something that isn't going to get a gun held to you though?"

Sawyer smiled slightly. "Not sure if we can find a plan like that, but if we can, it sounds good to me." he told her.

"Good." Jessie said with a sigh, closing her eyes again. The last thing she wanted was for him to be beat up and have a gun held to him again. She yawned and buried her face in his shoulder, the closeness no longer all that awkward to her.

"Good." Sawyer repeated. The closeness was still sort of weird to him, but he was getting used to it. He smoothed her hair down, looking around the cell. "Maybe we should sleep on it." he suggested, looking down at her. She seemed really tired.

Jessie nodded her head. "Sleeping sounds nice." she said, stifling a yawn. She rubbed her eyes, then slowly moved away from him, lying down on the floor.

Sawyer nodded. He wasn't very tired, but sleep wouldn't hurt. He lied down beside her and wrapped an arm around her, letting her use him for a pillow. He put his other hand behind his head, also needed a pillow. The floor was cold and hard. "Night, Sunshine…" he said after a moment.

Jessie looked at him. "Do you call people nicknames just for the sake of using nicknames, or can't you remember their names?" she asked him.

Sawyer chuckled. "I remember their names. You're name's Jessie." He yawned and pulled her closer. "Night, Sunshine." he repeated.

Jessie smiled slightly and shook her head. "Night, Sawyer." she said, snuggling again him. "Think things will be slightly better when we wake up?"

Sawyer shrugged his shoulders. "Might be." he said. "Maybe Doc's got a plan he plans to use and when we wake up, he'll be getting' us outa here."

Jessie nodded her head. She rolled over onto her stomach and closed her eyes. "Maybe." she murmured softly. She sighed and drifted off, trying to focus her dreams on good things, such as painting. She loved to paint.

"Yeah. Maybe." Sawyer said. He watched her for a few moments, then closed his eyes. Sighing deeply, he also began to drift off. No point in staying awake alone, even if he wasn't tired. Hopefully, Jack had a plan already. If not, then the two of them we're going to have to put their heads together and thing of something. He wasn't exactly good at thinking of working plans. Hopefully, Jessie would be better at it.


	12. Forse Alcuni Riposte

Sorry that took so long. I was finishing my novel. And now it's finished. Yay! It has 27 chapters, just so you know.

* * *

**Chapter 11**

**Forse Alcuni Riposte**

"**A picture's worth a thousand words."**

Kate shifted slightly, watching the hallway. No one was out there, none of the people that ran the place at least. Sighing, she glanced at Jack, then looked away again. "Think we'll ever know why we're here?" she asked him, curiously.

Jack opened his eyes, looking at her. "I don't know." he said, shifting slightly. "I'd be happy to just get out of this cell and be able to walk around." he told her, standing up to stretch.

Kate nodded slightly, looking up at him. She hated being locked up. This place was like prison, which she'd been running from, only worse. Sighing, she turned slightly, holding onto one of the bars on the door. "As long as they're not taking us to kill us, you'd rather walk around." she corrected him.

Jack sighed and nodded. "Yeah." he said. "As long as they're not taking us to kill us." He walked up behind her, staring out into the hallway. He put his hands on two of the bars and glanced down at her.

Kate sighed deeply and looked at the ground. She was bored out of her mind, but she'd much rather be in this cell than have the man hurting her. It reminded her of Wayne when she was little. She shuddered a bit at the thought and looked up again.

Jack noticed her shudder and frowned. "You alright?" he asked, worried about her like she always was.

Kate looked at him and nodded, not being able to help but smile. It was nice to have him always worry about her. Sure, sometimes it got on her nerves, but he had good intentions. "I'm fine." she assured him.

Jack nodded his head. "Okay." he said. He went back to staring silently at the floor, looking up when another man stopped in front of their cell.

"Get up." The man said, looking down at Kate. "And neither of you better argue. I have a gun and I will use it."

Kate glanced at the gun in his hand, then slowly pushed herself up. She looked at Jack and slowly moved backwards as he did.

The man unlocked the cell door and it swung open. He took a step in and grabbed Kate by the arm. "Listen and no one gets hurt." he said, pulling her outside of the cell, smirking as he realized how hard she was trying not to fight against him. He continued to pull her away, until the cell was out of view.

"What do you want?" Kate asked coldly, crossing her arms tightly across her chest.

"Calm down, Katie." The man replied. "I only want to give you something." he informed her.

Kate narrowed her eyes at him. "Don't call me that." she said. "Never call me that."

The man rolled his eyes. "Just because your little friend called you it before he died doesn't mean I'm not allowed." he replied. He reached in his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper.

Kate frowned and looked down, not wanting to argue with him while he had a gun. "Can you just give me what you wanted to give me and let me go back with Jack?" she asked quietly.

"I'm getting' there, I'm getting' there." the man replied. He shook his head and handed her the piece of paper.

She looked at it. "M-A-S-T-F?" she asked, raising her eyebrows at it.

The man sighed. "Turn it over." he said, rolling her eyes.

Kate turned it over, the look on her face softening a bit. "That's my dad." she said quietly. She looked at the picture of Sam Austen. "Why are you giving me this?"

"Because he asked me to." The man replied, giving her a shrug. "Get back to your cell now."

Kate looked up at him. "He asked you to?" she asked. "He talked to you? He's here? You have him here as a prisoner too?" She frowned, shaking her head.

"He's not a prisoner." The man said. "Now get back to your cell before I make you get back to your cell."

"But wait." Kate said. "Is he here? Can I talk to him?" She looked at him hopefully, only to have his hand come across her face.

"Get. Back. To. Your. Cell." The man said slowly. He narrowed his eyes at her to show he wasn't messing around. "Now."

Kate slowly brought her hand up to her cheek, closing her eyes. She turned and hung her head, heading back towards her cell. She got about a step before the man smirked and shoved her forward. She landed on her hands and knees, a bit shocked. His foot kicked her side and she fell over sideways, staring up at him with eyes filled with horror. "Stop it!" she told him in a high pitched voice. "I was going back!"

"And now you're trying to tell me what to do." The man said. He kicked her again, smirking. "This place will teach you to behave yourself, Katie. You'll learn to mind your own business, do what people tell you, not argue, and keep your mouth shut. Now shut up and get up."

Kate clutched her eyes, closing her eyes. Get up? Did he really expect her to get up after he'd just kicked her twice? "I…I can't." she told him, hoping he would listen to her.

"I said get up!" The man yelled, kicking her over and over again.

Kate rolled over, trying to get away from him. She shoved herself up, but everything span and she landed back on the floor again. Curling up into a ball, she tried to keep him from hurting her.

The man looked down at her, shaking his head. "You're pitiful." he said. "For a cold-blooded murderer criminal, you're absolutely pathetic."

Kate didn't reply, not even listening to him. She held back her tears, wanting to be with Jack right now. She'd been kicked around enough when she was little. She didn't want to have to deal with it again. "Leave me go." she pleaded timidly.

The man kicked her again. "Tell me what to do one more time and I'll kick you even harder." he informed her. He grabbed her by her arms and yanked her onto her feet. "Now stay up." he said, shoving her.

This time she fell backwards, hitting her head off the wall. "Jack!" she cried out, then clapped her hands over her mouth, knowing she should have kept it shut.

The man grabbed her and pulled her up again. He ripped the picture out of her hand and tore it up, dropping the pieces on the floor. "Pick it up." he told her, shoving her back down.

Kate fell to her hands and knees and obeyed. She picked up all the pieces, and offered them to him, only to have them knocked out of her hand again. She picked them back up and held them this time, waiting for him to say something.

"Get up you pathetic, worthless little person." The man told her, grabbing her and pulling her up yet again. He dragged her back to the cell and opened it, throwing her hair. "You'll learn." he informed her.

The picture pieces scattered as Kate's as opened as she hit the floor. She quickly picked them up, then crawled over to Jack, wrapping her arms tightly around him, trying to ignore the pain in her side.

Jack wrapped an arm around her, shooting the man a glare. "Kate, what did he do to you?" he asked.

"My side." Kate gasped. "My side…" She buried her face in his shirt, leaving go of him and holding her side.

Jack sighed and pried her hands away from the bruise. He looked at it and shook his head. It was bad, but in time it would heal. It would be painful for awhile, but at least it would eventually go away. "You're gonna be fine." he told her. He gently took the picture pieces from her hand. He glanced them over, then put them in her pocket for her so she wouldn't lose them. He'd let them hurt her again and he felt horrible for it. "I'm so sorry, Kate." he whispered.

Kate shook her head. It hadn't been his fault. The man had had a gun. He has saved their lives by not doing anything. She wrapped her arms around him again, staying close to him. Hopefully the man didn't come back. But how had he gotten a picture of her dad? Was Sam really there? Or was it just something old they had picked up? It looked like a pretty recent picture. There were plenty of ways to get pictures though in the outside world. Maybe they'd just found one and used her. If her dad was there and wasn't a prisoner, he'd be letting her out of here, right? She cried softly, not sure if it was out of pain, confusion, or what. Everything was happening so fast she wasn't sure how much longer she could take it.

Jack looked down at her and shook his head a bit. He gently rubbed her back, staying silent for a moment. "Why'd he hurt you?" he asked finally. "Why'd he bruise your side?"

"Because…Because I was talking." Kate told him. "And telling him what to do…and I yelled for you."

Jack nodded slightly. He had heard her yell for him. "Just…Just try and do what he tells you to, Kate." he said. "Maybe then we'll get out of here faster."

"I was trying…It just didn't work." Kate replied ,sniffling. She rested her head against his shoulder, looking around. She wasn't tired anymore, but she just felt like relaxing right where she was. She hoped Jack didn't mind.

Jack didn't mind at all that she was so close to him. He'd much rather have her close to him. He gently rubbed her back, occasionally running his hand through her hair. "We'll get out of here eventually." he said. "And then things will get better." He nodded and glanced at her.

Kate looked up at him, not sure whether to believe that or not. They might just end up stuck in the place forever. Or things might just end up horrible forever. "I hope you're right." she told him quietly with an inaudible sigh.

Jack looked down at her. "We'll get out of here, Kate." he told her. "I'll make sure of it. I'll even start thinking of a plan. All four of us will get out of here."

Kate nodded her head again, then looked down. She sighed and shut her eyes. Maybe she should start thinking of a plan too. There had to be some way to trick these people to let them out of this place. There just had to be. She hoped everyone else was thinking of plans too. Someone had to come up with something eventually. So far she had nothing though. They couldn't use pain, being sick, or anything like that. These people seemed to enjoy their suffering from what Kate saw.

Jack stared at the wall, trying to think of something, anything. His mind was also blank though. Maybe he should sleep on it. He shifted slightly and let go of Kate, lying down. Kate may not have been tired, but he sure was. He patted the spot beside him incase she wanted to lie down.

Kate lied down next to him, closing her eyes. She put one of her hands on her side, flinching slightly.

"Don't touch it." Jack told her. "That'll only make it hurt more."

Kate frowned and crossed her arms, then scooted closer to him. "You don't have any pain medicine?" she asked, hoping he did, but forgot to mention it.

Jack shook his head. "Sorry, Kate…I don't have anything…" he said, opening his eyes to look at her.

Kate sighed. She shrugged her shoulders. "Alright then." She moved so she was right up against him, her head resting on his arm. "It's not that bad anyway." It was bad, but at least it was bearable. She didn't need the medicine, but it would have been nice to have it.

"The pain should go away soon." Jack told her. He shifted slightly and yawned.


	13. Che Cosa Desiderano

Sorry that took so long. I was doing other stuff. But here's your update. It'd be really nice to get more reviews. So um...I think I might do a five reviews or no update thing.

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**Chapter 12**

**Che Cosa Desiderano**

"**Love reminds you that nothing else matters."**

They lied there in silence for awhile, having nothing really to say to each other. Each seemed to be thinking, and not really sleeping. Did they love each other? They were being really close since they'd gotten there. But was it love? Or was it fear and the need to have someone to hold onto?

Jack knew he loved her. He loved her with all of his heart. He would have done anything for her. He knew that. He'd known that from the beginning. He wasn't so sure about her though. Did she really love him? Or was it just that she needed him and then went this was over she'd run back to Sawyer?

Kate wasn't sure if she loved him or not. Love had been so confusing in the past. With Tom. With Kevin. No. It hadn't been confusing. She'd loved Tom and she'd loved Kevin. But both times hearts were broken. What if she broke Jack's heart? What if she couldn't stay in one place? What if everything just went wrong? She shifted slightly, opening her eyes as she heard footsteps. "Jack." she whispered, pushing him slightly. Her eyes went wide as she saw three men stop in front of their cell. "Jack." she repeated.

Jack shifted slightly. "Hmm?" he murmured, slowly opening his eyes. He looked at her for a moment, then followed her gaze over to the men. A bit startled, he slowly sat up and just looked at them, not wanting to talk first.

The first man opened the cell door, glaring in at them. "Jack Shephard, get up." he said, his voice firm. "Get up now."

Jack glanced down at Kate. So this time it was him. "I'll be back." he whispered, placing a kiss on her cheek. He stood and headed towards the cell entrance, the other two men grabbing him and leading him down the hall.

The first man shut the cell door, but didn't follow the other two. He leaned against the bars, looking in at her. "You love that man?" he asked her. "Jack…You love Jack?"

Kate looked at him, frowning slightly. She nodded her head. "Yeah." she said quietly. "Yeah. I love him."

The man nodded his head. "Well…Love him now." he said. "Cause if he doesn't do what we want him to, then he ain't gonna be around for you to love no more…And neither will that Southern guy."

Kate looked at him, shaking her head slightly. "What do you want him to do?" she asked quietly. "And what do you plan on doing with us if he doesn't?"

The man smirked slightly. "What do I want him to do?" he asked. "Well let's get into some history first…Talk about what this place is. You wanna know what this place is, Kate?" he asked her.

Kate looked at him, trying to tell if he was messing with her or not. He seemed to be serious. She paused, then nodded her head.

The man nodded back. "Well a long long time ago, before any of us here were born, around the time when Italy was just coming together. There was a man who had the dream of learning everything there was to know about the human mind and then mixing it all up and maybe fixing some things, making people think things that would never be though, messing with their emotions, all of that stuff. It was his dream. Or maybe, he was just crazy." He shrugged. "Well anyway, he built himself an office and began to experiment on people. Things went wrong, and he took off. He still had his dream, so where did he come? He came here. He built this place under the ocean near an island. Well, the island was already run by Hanso, so he had no way of getting patients, because it was deserted. So he gathered workers. And those workers would kidnap people and bring them here and keep them here. At first things were nice and clean and organized, but then he got so into his work, that he forgot about all of that stuff. He became so involved, that one day he tried an experiment on himself and ended up dying. His workers took over though. They lived here. The had families here. And they still went out and captured people to continue his work. Well it turned out, that not long after he died, his wife found out she was gonna have a baby. And so after that baby got old enough, he was put in charge. And for years the line went on and one…until now. The person we have in charge is very sick. His name in Matthew and he has a large tumor on his spine. And Jack was brought here to fix him. If he fixes him, we'll repay you by letting you go. If he refuses, we'll kill Jack, Sawyer, and Jessie then do some more of our experiments on you."

Kate looked at him, taking all of this information in. "So…So you want Jack to do surgery on your boss, and if he does, you'll let us go?" she asked, trying to make sure she had all of this straight.

The man nodded his head. "You got it." he told her. "And if not, you get to watch your friends die one by one."

Kate looked down. "Do I um…Can I talk to him if he refuses?" she asked. "Try to change his mind?"

The man shrugged slightly. "All depends, Kate." he told her. "All depends. He might be awhile in there, so maybe it'd be best if we moved you in with your other friends until he comes back. How's that sound?"

Kate looked around, then nodded slightly. Being in this place creeped her out. Being in this place alone was even worse. She slowly walked out after the man opened the cell door and looked at him. "You going to beat me like the other guy did before you take me there?" she asked him.

The guy shook his head. "Nah." he said. "We tend to let Todd do all the beating people around here. I'm Benry, by the way."

Kate gave him a slightly weird look, but then quickly hid it. Benry? What kind of name was Benry? She followed the man down the hall, stopping when the got to the cell that contained Sawyer and Jessie. She walked in after the man opened the door, glancing at him as she shut it. "Hey." she said quietly, looking at Sawyer.

"Hey yourself, Freckles." Sawyer replied miserably, wanting out of this place. "You here to get us outa here?"

Kate sat down on the floor. "I don't know." she replied. "But Jack might have a way of getting us outa here."

Sawyer looked at her and raised his eyebrows. "Really now, Freckles? And how's Doc gonna do that?"

Kate shifted slightly. "They brought us here for a reason, Sawyer." she said quietly. "They needed Jack and they're using us as bait to make him do what they want. And if he does what they want, they said that they'd let us go."

Sawyer crossed his arms. "And what exactly do they want him to do?" he asked her.

"They want him to operate on the guy that runs this place." Kate replied. "He has a tumor, and they want him to fix it."

Sawyer nodded his head slightly. "And you really believe that if he fixes this guy then they're gonna let us go?" he asked her, not sounding like he believe it at all.

"What other hope do we have, Sawyer?" Kate asked him. "You think we'll be able to get ourselves out of this place? I have to believe them."

Sawyer shook his head slightly. "And here I am thinkin' you had common sense…" he answered.

Kate glared at him. "And if he doesn't do what they say, then they're going to kill the three of you." she added.

"Kill the three of us?" Sawyer asked. "And what about you? Hmm? They gonna make you queen of the island?"

"Sawyer, stop it." Kate cut in. "Just stop it. How do you know they aren't lying? You don't. And even if they are, don't you think it'd be a lot better to be here together than to be killed off one by one?"

Sawyer sighed and stopped, glancing down at Jessie who was looking at him. "And how're we gonna make sure he does this surgery?" he asked her.

"I think, I think I might be able to get them to let me talk to him." Kate said. "Maybe I can convince him to do it."

Sawyer nodded his head slightly. "Well you better make sure he does it." he said. "Otherwise Chewy over there's gonna flip his lid." he said, nodding to a Korean man that was angrily stomping past the cell.

Kate arched a brow, not sure what that was all about. "Well um…You have your reasons for wanting him to do it, and I have mine." she said. "But either way, he needs to do it."

Sawyer sighed and nodded. "Well then we're gonna make sure it gets done so we can get outa here." he said.

Kate nodded. She looked down at her hands and sighed. What if this all turned out horribly? What if everything went wrong and they got killed anyway? She backed herself up against the wall and looked at Sawyer and Jessie, feeling a bit of jealousy. No. She couldn't be jealous. She loved Jack. It didn't matter who Sawyer was with. "I think I'm going to take a nap until there's something I can do." she said quietly, then closed her eyes.

"Nighty night, Freckles…" Sawyer replied. "Sleep tight. Don't let the bedbugs bite."

Kate frowned. "I'm not particularly fond of bugs…" she said. "Mind keeping those creeping ones with the little green feelers off of me?" she asked.

Sawyer chuckled. "No problem, Freckles." he replied. "Creepy bugs…Little green feelers…Alright." He smirked and shook his head slightly, then looked down at Jessie. "You a scared of bedbugs too?"

Jessie smiled slightly. "No." she told him, shaking her head. She looked at the wall and closed her eyes, still smiling. Her eyes soon opened though when she heard a commotion going on down the hall. "Think everything's alright?" she asked quietly, looking up at Sawyer.

"Is anything ever alright?" Sawyer muttered in response. He ignored the yelling and shook his head. What was the point of getting up to see what it was? It didn't sound like Jack, so he really didn't care.

The fighting got closer and a tall man finally stopped outside the cell. He opened the door then stood back, watching two other men throw a child into the cell. "Now knock it off." he told her, shaking his head as he shut the door, then walked off with the other two.

The girl stood up and stomped over to the cell door. "Next time you'll leave me alone!" she yelled. "Idiots!" she added. She crossed her arms, ignoring the other people in the cell with her.

Sawyer arched a brow at her, surprised she was still in one piece, considering she was fighting with them. From what he could see, she looked to be around ten years old. Her clothes were dirty and tore and she didn't even have any shoes on. "Well you know how to handle yourself in this place." he said with a nod. "Maybe you should teach us…You got a name?"

The girl turned around, keeping her arms crossed. "I'm Jayla." she replied. "And you are?"

"Sawyer." Sawyer replied, looking at her, a bit disturbed by her appearance. Her hair had very tight curls and was dark black, making her extremely bright green eyes stand out. He also noted that her skin was so pale it was almost white. "So…Jayla…You just get here?" he asked.

Jayla shook her head, leaning against the wall. "I've been here since I was five." she replied. "My brother Mitchell was three…But they killed him when he turned four, so now it's just me."

Sawyer frowned, but nodded slightly. "Well this is Jessie and Kate." he said, pointing to each one as he said their names.

Jayla looked at the two of them, then over at Sawyer again. "How long have you been here?" she asked. "I don't remember seeing you last week."

"We been here about a day." Sawyer replied. "Got here sometime yesterday. Who knows what time. Know anyway we could get outa here?" he asked her.

Jayla rolled his eyes. "Yeah…and that's why I'm still in here." she replied sarcastically.

"Well ya don't gotta get a attitude." Sawyer replied, frowning slightly. Dang. This girl reminded him of himself.

Jayla shrugged her shoulder. "You gonna do something about it if I do?" she asked him, arching a brow at him.

Kate looked back and forth between the two of them, smirking. "Ooh, Sawyer, I think you just met your match." she said with a grin.

"Shut it, Freckles." Sawyer replied, frowning at her. He looked at Jayla again. Trying to change the subject, he continued on questioning her. "So how old are ya, Squirt?" he asked.

"Ten and a half." Jayla replied. "But age doesn't really matter in this place. They only need it so they know how many needles to give you when they experiment. And don't call me Squirt, Mr. I talk with a Funny Accent."

Sawyer rolled his eyes. "It's called a Southern accent, Miss Mouth." he replied. "So you been here for five years…" he said, nodding.

"Five and a half." Jayla replied.

Sawyer rolled his eyes. "Five and a half." he corrected himself. "So they just let you talk back to them?" he asked her.

Jayla shrugged. "Most of the time." she said. "It ain't like I can very much hurt them. And plus, I'm the only ten year old they got here."

"Don't you mean, ten and a half?" Sawyer asked, smirking slightly.

Jayla rolled her eyes. "That your boyfriend?" she asked, looking down at Jessie. "Cause if it is, I really pity you."

"Shut it, Shortcake." Sawyer said, frowning even more at her.

Jessie smirked and shook her head. "We're just friends." she said.

"Awful close together for bein' just friends…" Jayla told her, crossing her arms even tighter.

Sawyer sighed. "You got a problem with it, Shortcake?" he asked her, arching a brow at her.

Jayla shrugged. "Just thought I'd let you know that you look like you're more than just friends…" she replied simply.

"Well know what I think?" Sawyer asked. "I think you been trapped in here so long that you forgot what manners were."

Jayla nodded slightly. "Alright. Then what's your excuse?" she replied.

"Ooh." Kate said, not being able to hide her grin. "I really do think you've met your match."

Sawyer looked at her. "Ya know what, Freckles…"

Jayla cut him off. "Do you use nicknames just because you like them or because you can't remember peoples' actual names?" she asked curiously.

Sawyer sighed and closed his eyes, leaning his head back against the wall. "People, just kill me now." he muttered.

"Ooh. A new record." Jayla said. "Normally it takes at least an hour with me before people say that." She smiled slightly.

Sawyer chuckled, shaking his head. "Glad to help ya beat your record." he replied, his voice hinting sarcasm.

Jayla glanced over at the cell door as one of the men came back. "Come back for me already, Bighead?" he asked him.

The man rolled his eyes, unlocking and opening the door. "Fortunately, no." he replied. He glared at her, then looked at Kate. "Get up." he told her. "Get up and come with me."

Kate looked at him for a moment, then glanced around the cell. "Why?" she asked. "You plan on beating me?"

The man sighed. "If you don't get up I'll beat you." he replied. "Now stand up and follow me."

Kate frowned and looked at the ground, seeming to be considering whether to follow him or not. After a moment, she pushed herself up off the ground. Crossing her arms tightly, she followed him out of the room. She looked around as she walked, feeling a bit nervous. This entire place made her nervous. And now she was alone with no one to help her if she was attacked. She kept her mouth shut though and tried to obey by just following quietly.

The man walked for awhile, finally stopped beside a door. He turned to face her, watching her carefully. "It's been raining a lot lately." he said. "And thing's are starting to flood. We don't want anything ruined, so I was you to get everything that's outside and bring it inside." he said.

Kate frowned, but nodded slightly. "Alright." she said quietly, not wanting to get beat again. She tugged on the door, finding it a bit hard to open because of the wind. She finally managed to get it opened the and went to prop it up, but the guy stopped her.

"I don't want in here flooding too." The man informed. "Keep it shut unless you're going in and out." he told her.

Kate looked down, then looked outside, squinting through the heavy rain. The place was fenced in, reminding her of a dog yard. The wind was blowing stuff all over, and she knew she'd have problems opening the door and she carried all of their stuff in. She glanced at the man again, then headed outside, trying to do exactly what he told her to do.

She'd worked for a few hours, moving everything she found. A picnic table, a lawnmower, a leaf blower, lawn ornaments, and much more. The sun had began to go down and thinks were already freezing. She was soaked and wanted to go back inside, her stomach growling in hunger. Putting her hand over her mouth, she coughed a bit and closed her eyes. Sniffling, she pushed her wet hair out of her face and headed for the door for a last time. She tugged on it, frowning when she realized it was locked. "Hey!" she yelled, pausing to cough again. "The door's locked!" She waited, but no response.

Looking around, she tried to find another way in, but saw nothing. She rubbed her eyes, then knocked on the door, hoping to get someone's attention. "Hey!" she tried again, her voice slightly high-pitched. She didn't want to stay out here. She could already feel herself coming down with a cold. "Please, let me in!" she pleaded.

The door opened after a few moments and the man arched a brow at her. "Oops." he said. "Sorry. I forgot you were out there." He shrugged and moved aside so she could come in.

Kate quickly stepped in, thankful that the inside was much warmer than being outside. She stood there shivering, looking at the ground. "Could…" Her voice trailed off and she cleared her throat. "Could I maybe have some dry clothes?" she asked quietly.

The man looked at her, blinking a few times. He rolled his eyes. "You always want things, don't you?" he asked. "You're never happy. You should be happy you even have clothes. You're not getting dry ones." He shook his head at her in disgust. Turning, he headed back for the cell she was staying in.

Kate frowned and slowly followed him, coughing every couple of moments. She crossed her arms, not even feeling like talking back. Her head hurt. Her throat hurt. Her body hurt from moving so many things. She was just happy to be going back to the cell. Dry clothes would have been nice though. Maybe, if she was lucky, there'd be something to eat for her there…or maybe even drink. She watched as the an unlocked and opened the cell, then stepped in.

Sawyer looked at her, frowning. "What happened, Freckles?" he asked, glancing at the man as he left. "Looks like ya got attacked by a water park."

"Leave her alone, Sawyer." Jessie said, standing up. She walked over to Kate and put her hand on her arm, gently helping her sit down. She watched her cough, then placed her hand on her forehead. "Here." she said, reaching over and grabbed a bottle of orange juice that had been left for her when they had supper.

Kate took the bottle and opened it. She took a small sip, wincing at the pain in her throat. She put the bottle down and closed her eyes, annoyed with this whole place. "Has Jack come back yet?" she asked, her voice slightly raspy.

Jessie frowned and shook her head. "No." she said, looking at her sympathetically.

"Oh." Kate replied, shifting slightly. She rubbed her eyes, then slowly lied down. "I'm just gonna go to bed now." she mumbled, coughing again.

Jessie nodded slightly. "That's probably a good idea." she said. "You look really exhausted." She patted her shoulder, then backed up over to where she'd been sitting by Sawyer.

Exhausted barely even described what Kate felt. She was completely drained. She made a small noise and rolled over onto her side, drifting off quite quickly.

Sawyer watched her, shaking his head slightly. He glanced around the room, then pulled his backpack over and dumped all of his stuff out. There was hardly anything in there, but what he was looking for was in there. He pulled out his sweatshirt, then scooted over to Kate. "Freckles…" he said, shaking her slightly.

Kate shifted slightly, making a small whining noise. Her face scrunched up a bit and she looked like she was going to get up, but she stayed fast asleep.

Sawyer frowned, looking at her for a moment. "Come on, Freckles…Get up and put something dry on." he told her, pulling her into a sitting position.

Kate slowly opened her eyes, looking around. She looked at Sawyer and then at the sweatshirt. She coughed again, then took it from him and turned around, scooting into the corner. She took off her freezing, wet shirt and pants, then put his warm dry sweatshirt on, thankful he had given it to her. She coughed again and crawled back over to Sawyer, lying down with her head on his lap. He was quite warm compared to her. She put her arm over her mouth, coughing.

Sawyer frowned and watched her. "Come 'ere, Freckles." Sawyer said. He put his arms under her and lifted her up, putting her on his lap. He pulled an oceanic blanket out of his backpack and wrapped it around her, holding her close to him. "Warmer?"

Kate leaned her head against his shoulder, nodding slightly. "I want Jack." she mumbled in a raspy voice.

"Jack'll be back soon." Sawyer replied. "Just go to sleep, Freckles."


	14. Bugie and Orrore e realta

**The chapters were really short, so I just put two of them together. I wad having complete writers block when I was writing, so I just snuck some things that are really happening on LOST, just changed them around a bit.

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**Chapter 13**

**Bugie**

"**Pain can make even the innocent lie."**

Jack followed the man down the hallway, looking around as he did so. Doors were all over, some of them closed, some opened, some open a crack. He was curious to know what was in all of them. To know what this place was. His eye caught on a brown door that was halfway open and had a tag on it that said 'security cameras'. He slowed slightly, peering inside, getting a shock at what he saw. Forgetting that the man was even there with him, he opened the door and walked in, looking at the TV that showed the cell Kate, Sawyer, and Jessie were in. His heart broke at the sight of Kate snuggling close to Sawyer. So that's what happened when he wasn't around. She truly was a worthless liar. He narrowed his eyes, shaking his head.

The man walked in behind him, smirking at what he saw. "Well now." he said, leaning against the wall and staring at the TV. "Looks like your little girlfriend is cheating on you." he said. "If I was a betting man, I would have bet all my money that she would have stuck with you."

Jack balled his hands into fists. He muttered something under his breath, then turned to face the man. "I want a way off of this island." he told him.

The man looked at him then nodded his head slightly. "If you do what we want you to do, then I'll get you rescue and get you off this island." he said.

"Good." Jack said, not really even caring what it was that they wanted him to do right now. He nodded his head.

The man nodded his head back. "Good." he said. "Now if you'll come with me, I'll take you and show you what I want to do."

Jack took one last look at the TV screen. He then quickly turned and followed the man out of the room.

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**Chapter 14**

**Orrore e realta **

"**Never fear shadows…They simply mean there is a light shining somewhere nearby."**

Another tremor shook Kate's body and she pulled herself closer to Sawyer, trying to keep warm. She had to quickly pull away though, turning away from him as she coughed. "I want Jack." she repeated, her chin quivering slightly. She coughed again before leaning against Sawyer once more.

"Yeah, I know ya do." Sawyer said with a frown and a sigh. He placed his hand on her forehead, feeling her shiver again as he did so. He wasn't a doctor like Jack, so he had no idea what to do with her if she was running a fever. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the wall, trying to think.

Kate rubbed her eyes, then looked down at the floor. She pulled the airline blanket tighter around her, curling up a bit more. She was freezing, yet sweating at the same time. "Sawyer, Can I have a drink?" she mumbled, her voice still raspy.

Sawyer opened his eyes again and looked down at her. He nodded and grabbed the bottle of orange juice then handed it to her. "There ya go." he said.

Kate took the cap of, then took a small drink. "Thanks." she said quietly, putting the cap back on then putting the bottle on the floor beside them.

Sawyer nodded his head, watching her carefully for a moment. He then looked out through the cell door, trying to see if Jack was coming back or not. He was horrible when it came to taking care of people.

Kate closed her eyes, slowly drifting off. Her dreams were quite blurry, not really making much sense to her. It was dark and things were flying past her and around her, making odd hissing noises. Time went on and things began to get clearer and she saw creatures, just like she had in her last dream. Surrounding them and her were black clouds of smoke. Before she knew it, they charged her. Before she could find out what else happen, she snapped awake, gasping for breath.

Sawyer looked at her, frowning slightly. He yawned, obviously having been sleeping. "You alright, Freckles?" he asked, blinking a few times.

Kate looked up at him and then around the room. She slowly scooted off of his lap and backed herself into a corner, shaking her head. She wanted Jack there. Her face began to scrunch up and tears began to roll down her cheeks.

Sawyer rubbed his forehead. He sighed and followed her over to the corner, sitting down in front of her. He knew what she wanted, but how was he supposed to get Jack for her? He put his hand on her forehead and then on her cheeks, closing his eyes. She was burning up. "Come on…Let's just go back to sleep." he told her.

Kate shook her head, tears still falling freely down her face. She turned away from him, coughing hard.

Sawyer looked at her, then looked around. Jack was everywhere when you didn't want him, then nowhere to be found when you did want him. He pulled her into his arms again, rubbing her back as she coughed.

Kate leaned against him, shaking her head. She squeezed her eyes shut, just wanting Jack. She tried to get out his name, but she was coughing to hard to talk. She continued to cry, only making herself cough harder.

Sawyer reached over and grabbed the bottle of orange juice. He offered it to her, but she refused to take it. He closed his eyes, getting a bit frustrated, mainly with himself.

Kate shifted slightly, leaning back against him. She kept the blanket tightly around her, freezing.

Sawyer looked down at her. "Just drink some so you'll stop coughin'." he told her, handing her the bottle of orange juice again.

Kate squeezed her eyes shut and weakly opened the bottle. She took a sip, flinching as her throat burned. She brought her hand up to her throat, shaking her head. "Jack." she cried, her voice so raspy it could barely be heard.

Sawyer sighed. "Freckles, he ain't here." he told her firmly, getting annoyed. "You beggin' for him ain't gonna bring him here either. Now lie down and go back to sleep."

Kate shook her head, beginning to cry even harder. She scooted away from Sawyer and into the corner, curling into a ball. She crossed her arms tightly, trying to wish Jack to the room. She was up half the night and absolutely exhausted when morning came and someone turned on the lights in the cells and hallway. Shifting slightly, she rubbed her eyes, glancing up as a man stopped outside their cell.

The man unlocked the door and opened it walking in. He looked down at Kate in disgust and pulled her to her feet. "Get going." he said, shoving her out of the cell.

Kate fell to the floor right outside. She groaned and shut her eyes, everything around her spinning. "Leave me alone." she tried to plead, her voice fading in and out.

The man pulled her up again. "Don't tell me what to do." he said, continuing to shove her down the hall.

Everything seemed to be spinning as Kate stumbled down the hallway. She stopped when the hallway ended and went in the room the man nodded for her to go it. Her eyes landed on a bed and she walked over to it, lying down. She didn't care if the man wanted her to lie down or not. She needed to lie down.

The man walked in, grabbing a needle off of a desk. "This is just so you don't die from whatever you caught." he informed her, sticking the needle in her arm.

Kate flinched, making herself start coughing again. She then just closed her eyes, slowly drifting off to sleep, dreaming about being back at the beach with Jack.

The man turned and left her there, not saying another word. He shut and locked the door behind him, then headed off.

Kate slept for quite awhile, not even sure what time it was when she woke up. At first she was quite confused as to where she was, but then she remembered slightly. She looked around the room, realizing it looked just like a bedroom. Feeling slightly better, she snuggled down into the bed, continuing to look around. Her eyes landed on a TV and she looked at it for a moment, but she didn't feel like getting up to turn it on. The room was warm and cozy and she was quite comfortable in it. She just wished that Jack was there too. Being alone wasn't exactly her favorite thing to be. She sighed and closed her eyes again, yawning, but then coughing.

She wondered if there was anything to drink in this room, her throat hurting and all itchy. She opened her eyes once more and looked around. Standing, she almost fell back over, but somehow managed to get her balance. She wondered around the room, finally finding a small refrigerator near the corner, in-between the dresser and wall. She knelt down beside it and opened it, happy to find it was full. She just hoped the stuff was good. After checking the dates on a few things, she pulled out a can of soda and opened it. She took a small sip, then carried it back over to the bed and put it on the nightstand. She crawled back into bed again and curled up under the covers, but ended up coughing again for quite awhile, finally just losing her voice. Groaning slightly, she got up, but her head span and she somehow ended up on the ground. She hugged her knees to her chest, closing her eyes.


	15. Confuso se che cose e reale

**Here's the next chapter. Five reviews or no update again.**

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**Chapter 15**

**Confuso se che cose e reale**

"**Truth is incontrovertible, malice may attack it and ignorance may deride it, but, in the end, there it is."**

Jack headed back to the cell, a frown plastered on his face. He'd agreed to do what they needed him to do in return for getting off the island. He felt an utter disgust towards Kate and Sawyer…well…mostly Sawyer. He still loved Kate and that hurt him the most. They man put him in the cell with Sawyer and Jessie and he walked over to the corner, sitting down.

Sawyer looked at him, frowning slightly. "You know where Freckles is?" he asked him. He'd been sleeping when she'd been taken and was worried sick about her.

Jack glared at him. "No." he snapped. "I'm not her keeper."

Sawyer looked slightly taken aback by how he had reacted to the question. He had expected him to get worried and try to find out where she was. "Well I ain't seen her since last night." he informed him.

Jack shrugged his shoulders. "Well how should I know where she is?" he asked. "What? You think I got a little radar machine that blinks a red dot in the spot that she is everywhere she goes?"

Sawyer put his hands in the air. "What's your problem, Doc?" he asked. "I know we're trapped in the frickin' place of death and doom, but ya don't gotta take it out on everyone around ya. I was just wonderin' if you knew where she was."

Jack shot him a glare. "Why don't you know where she is?" he asked. He got up and moved over to the cell door. "Hey!" he called out. "I want outa here!"

One of the men sighed and opened the cell door for him. They were told to respect him now that he was going to do what they wanted. "And where do you want to go?" the man asked him, shutting the door after he stepped out.

Jack gave a shrug. "Anywhere but that cell." he replied, not wanting to be around Sawyer at all right now.

The man nodded his head slightly. He turned and began walking, Jack following behind him. He led him down the hall, finally stopping outside the door of the room that Kate was in. "Here you go." he said, opening the door for him.

Jack took a step inside, looking around. His eyes finally landed on Kate. He looked at her in anger and frustration, shaking his head. "I can't believe you." he growled. "After all we've been through together…After all we've said to each other…You still get close to him when I'm not there."

Kate opened her mouth to speak, but found she couldn't. Tears quickly began to fill her eyes as she tried to force her voice. She looked up at him, then reached for him to hold her.

Jack looked at her, shaking his head. "We're over, Kate." he told her. "And it'll never happen again." He turned to the man in the doorway. "Come to think of it, I'd rather be back in the cell." he informed him, walking out and leaving Kate to cry.

The man nodded slightly, not saying a word or tell him what had really happened. He shut the door behind him, then turned, leading Jack back to the cell.

Jack walked in as he opened the door, sitting down on the floor as he closed it. "I found where Kate is." he informed Sawyer, not looking at him.

Sawyer perked up a bit. "Where is she? Is she alright? Why aren't you there with her?" he questioned.

"She's got her own room." Jack said. "And she's just fine…I know what happened in here."

Sawyer looked at him, looking a bit confused. "Is she feeling alright now?" he asked. "She doesn't want you in there with her?"

Jack rolled his eyes. "Now she's feeling guilty and crying." he said. "And I'd prefer not to be in there with the little cheater."

Sawyer looked even more confused. He blinked a few times, not sure what Jack was talking about. "Why's she feelin' guilty?" he asked him. "And who's she cheatin' on?"

Jack rolled his eyes. "Don't play dumb with me." he told him. "I know the two of you got cozy while I was gone."

Sawyer frowned. So that's what he thought? "Cozy?" he asked him, shaking his head. "Doc, I spent all night tryin' to calm her down as she cried for ya…I don't know what you think, but she's been sick and wantin' ya."

Jack looked at him, silent for a moment. Wait. Kate was sick? "What do you mean?" he asked him, not sure if he understood even though it wasn't that hard to understand.

"I mean, they made her work out in the rain and she caught something…" Sawyer answered, looking at him. "You thought we got together? Doc, I could hardly get her to stop cryin' your name."

Jack frowned, looking quite guilty. Kate had reached for him to hold her because she wasn't feeling good and he'd told her they were over. He rubbed his head, closing his eyes.

"I dunno what ya did, but I gotta feelin' that you're owin' her an apology…" Sawyer said, arching a brow at him.

Jack nodded his head slightly. "Yeah. I am." he said with a sigh, getting to his feet. He walked slowly over to the cell door again. "Hey!" he called out once more, a bit quieter this time.

The man looked at him. He sighed in frustration and walked back to the cell. "Yes?" he asked, raising his eyebrows at him.

Jack looked down at his hands for a moment. "I need to go back and see my friend." he informed him. "May I do that?"

The man looked at him, then nodded slightly. "I suppose." he told him. "But this time, you're gonna stay there awhile. I got better things to do than to lead you around the whole building."

Jack nodded his head. "That's fine." he told him. "I plan on staying awhile with her."

"Alright." The man said. He unlocked the cell door and opened it, then shut it and locked it again once Jack was out. "Follow me." he said with a sigh. He turned, then headed back towards the room that held Kate again.

Jack followed, not sure what he was even going to say to her. He would have to apologize and most like explain what he had thought and why he'd said that to her. He ran his hand over his hair and stopped outside the door. He waited for the man to open it, then slowly walked inside, watching as the man shut it behind him. He knelt down beside the sobbing Kate, looking at her sadly. "Kate…" he said softly with a sigh. "Kate, I'm so sorry. I saw Sawyer holding you and I thought something else."

Kate didn't care what he did or was saying or anything. She crawled over to him, and wrapped her arms around him, holding onto him tightly. She coughed some more and then buried her face in his shirt, leaning against him.

Jack wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer. He frowned when she buried her face in his shirt, feeling the heat from her forehead go right through the thin cloth. "Come on. Let's get you to bed." he told her, gently scooping her up into his arms.

Kate wrapped her arms around his neck, beginning to stop crying. She wasn't sure why, but just being near him made her feel so much better.

Jack kissed the side of her head, then lied her down on the bed, propping her up against the pillows. "Here." he said, handing her the soda, figuring it was hers. "I'm going to go see if there's any medicine of some kind in the place." He kissed her forehead, then headed into the bathroom to look.

Kate closed her eyes and took a sip of the soda then put the can back on the nightstand. She snuggled back against the pillows, then slowly opened her eyes again, looking to see if he was coming back yet.

Jack walked into the bathroom and opened the medicine cabinet, surprised to see it full of stuff. He began to search through everything, looking to see if there was anything for her fever and cough. He grabbed a bottle and looked at it, then emptied two of the pills into his hand. He walked back into the other room and gave them to her.

Kate took the medicine from him, and put it in her mouth. She picked up the soda again and took a few sips. After a bit of struggling, she finally got the pills down. She put the soda back on the stand then reached for him once more.

Jack smiled slightly as she reached for him. He pulled the blankets back and lied down beside her then covered them up. He looked at her for a moment, then wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close. "Can you talk now?" he asked her, brushing some of her hair away from her sweaty forehead with his fingers.

Kate cleared her throat slightly, then nodded her head. "Yeah." she answered in a raspy voice.

Jack nodded slightly, still looking at her. "Alright." he said. "Then I have a question. Can I ask it?"

Kate looked at him curiously, but then nodded her head silently. She hoped the answer didn't involve her talking to much, because her throat still really hurt.

Jack smiled and looked at her. He hesitated, then nervously asked his question. "Kate…" he started, looking around, then back over at her. "What would you do…" his voice trailed off.

Kate shifted slightly and looked at him curiously. The question was obviously important if he was that nervous about asking it.

Jack sighed, more afraid of the answer he might get than asking that question. "Kate." he said again. "What would you do…What would you do if I told you I loved you?" he asked her, looking at her.

Well, Kate hadn't expected that sort of question. She looked at him silently for a moment before opening her mouth to speak. "Well…" she said quietly, then cleared her throat. She smiled weakly. "I'd say I loved you back."

Jack looked at her, then smiled slightly. "Alright." he told her. "Kate. I love you."

Kate looked at him, tears filling her eyes. She cleared her throat again. "Jack…" she whispered. "I…I love you too."

Jack's smile widened and he stared at her. He shifted slightly then placed a soft kiss on her lips.

Kate's eyes slowly shut and she kissed him back, then slowly pulled away. "You're going to get sick if you kiss me." she informed him, putting her hand over her mouth and coughing.

Jack shrugged his shoulders. "I don't care." he replied. He leaned over and kissed her forehead. "You're really warm, Hun." he told her.

Kate nodded slightly, rubbing her eyes. "I don't feel good." she told him quietly. She sniffled and cleared her throat, then rolled onto her side and cuddled against him, wanting to be held closer.

Jack wrapped his arms tighter around her, pulling her as close as he could get her. He stroked her hair for a few moments, then gently began rubbing her back, trying as best as he could to comfort her. "The medicine should kick in in a few moments." he told her.

Kate nodded her head. She could feel herself getting more and more drowsy as the seconds passed. She mumbled something inaudible and snuggled closer to him, burying her face in his shirt again.

Jack smiled and watched her, continuing to rub her back. "Go to sleep." he whispered softly. "I'll be here."

Kate sighed and opened her eyes, tiredly glancing up at him. "Don't leave." she slurred.

Jack placed another kiss on her forehead. "Go to sleep. I'm not going anywhere." he told her, pulling the blankets tighter around them. He closed his eyes, planning to sleep for awhile with her.

Kate looked at him for a moment, then closed her eyes again. She sighed contently and quickly fell asleep.


	16. In Un Momento Scuro

I only had 4 reviews, but, since it's Christmas, I updated anyway.

Merry Christmas.

And for the person who asked; the titles are in Italian.

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**Chapter 16**

**In Un Momento Scuro**

"**Courage, it would seem, is nothing less than the power to overcome danger, misfortune, fear, injustice, while continuing to affirm inwardly that life with all its sorrows is good; that everything is meaningful even if in a sense beyond our understanding; and that there is always tomorrow."**

After a few hours of Kate and Jack sleeping, the door to their room slowly opened. A man walked in, and looked at them before glancing around. He walked over to Jack and shook him slightly, doing his best not to wake the sleeping woman next to him. "Dr. Shephard." he whispered. "We're ready for you."

Jack shifted slightly, quickly opening his eyes when he noticed the man was there. "What?" he asked in confusion. He stared up at the man, looking tired.

The man rolled his eyes. "I said we're ready for you." he said. "Everything is ready. Come on."

Jack rubbed his eyes for a moment, then glanced down at Kate. He leaned over and placed a kiss on her forehead. He sighed and stared at her for a moment, then stood up. "Alright." he said. He'd been thinking about this and had an idea. He just hoped it would work.

The man nodded his head slightly. He turned and headed out of the room into the dimly lit hallway, the lights flickering.

Jack frowned as he headed into the hall, watching as the man shut the door behind him. "What's up with the lights?" he asked. "You don't have a mechanic?"

The man shrugged. "It's just from the storm." he said. "We have a generator in the room you're going to be working in though."

Jack nodded his head. He glanced at the lights once more, then continued to follow the man down the hall. He stopped once they got into the room and walked over to the x-rays, looking at them carefully. "Alright." he said. He turned to the man they were beginning to put to sleep on the table.

"So what's the chances he's going to live?" The man asked him, glancing over at his boss. "Are they good? Bad?"

"It's about a fifty-fifty chance." Jack replied, walking over to the sink. "Can you get those?" he asked, nodding to the gloves.

The man nodded. He watched Jack wash his hands, then helped him slip the gloves on.

Jack sighed and took a breath, counting to five in his head. He glanced at the people who were going to help him, then turned back to the man. "Feel free to leave if you're not going to do anything." he said. "It'd be better if no one was in the way."

The man nodded his head slightly. "I have other stuff to do anyway." he told him. Turning, he left the room to gather everyone else just incase things went wrong.

Jack turned back to the man and nodded. "Alright." he muttered to himself, walking over to the man.

He spent quite awhile on the surgery, doing everything that he should for the time being. The machine that monitored the man's heart rate suddenly started beeping faster though, and Jack glanced over it. Time for his plan.

One of the other doctors shot a look at Jack. "What's going on?" he asked him, quickly.

Jack continued with what he was doing for a moment. He then stopped and turned around. "Let my friends out of here." he said. "If you don't, I'm going to let him die."

The man looked at him, not seeming to understand what was happening. "What did you do?" he asked.

Jack narrowed his eyes at him. "Did you hear me?" he asked. "I said let my friends go if you want your boss to live."

The man stared at him, then turned to the door. "Hey! Manny!" he yelled. "Get in here, NOW!"

The man who had brought Jack into the room rushed in, followed by Kate, Sawyer, Jayla, and Jessie. "What's going on?" he asked quickly, his gaze going from the man, to Jack, to the heart monitor.

Sawyer looked around, then looked at Jack, staring at him for a moment. He seemed to read his eyes slammed his fist into Manny's stomach, grabbing the gun as it dropped. He pointed it at Manny, then turned to Kate and Jessie and Jayla. "Run." he told them.

Kate stared at them for a moment, then took off as fast as she could. She was a criminal, used to doing things quickly and running.

Jayla took off right after Kate did, though ran in a different direction.

Jessie took a few moments, almost in shock. She soon turned and ran after Kate though, trying to catch up to her, but ending up getting separated from her. She took a random direction, but ended up running smack into another person that worked there. She fell to the ground, letting out a whimper as he grabbed her by the arms and lifted her up, glaring at her.

Kate managed to take a direction where no one was. She wasn't sure where she was going, or even if she wanted to know where she was going. It was getting darker and darker and the stone walls soon turned into dirt walls, the ground also becoming dirt. She took no time to look around though. She just kept running as fast as she could, hoping that where ever she was heading had an exit.

It was quite suddenly when she tripped over a tree root and landed on the ground. She groaned smally and shifted slightly, realizing she was lying in something very moist. Slowly, she pushed herself up and looked at her hands. Her eyes went wide as she noticed whatever she had landed in was a deep red color. She quickly looked at the ground, feeling even more sick than she already was when she noticed what she had landed in was a puddle of blood.

She tried to whimper, but her voice got caught in her throat and she coughed. Hurriedly, she tried to wipe the blood off of her hands and onto her clothes, not wanting it touching her skin. She didn't even know what, or who, it had come from. She wasn't sure if she wanted to find out either.

The effects of running hadn't hit her yet, maybe because she was in shock from all that was happening. She began walking quickly down the tunnel of the cave she was in, looking around in horror. Weird designs were painted on the cave walls, indescribable, weird, yet brilliant and beautiful. They didn't resemble anything for the most part, and gave her a horrible feeling inside. She crossed her arms tightly and continued walking, a breeze making her shiver more.

There was a movement behind her and she quickly turned around, though couldn't see anything. This time a whimper escaped her, though she tried to hide it, not wanting to be heard. She tried to be the brave Kate, who wasn't afraid of anything…but she found herself being the Kate she normally wasn't; sick, terrified, confused. She mouthed Jack's name, trying to calm herself as tears began to fill her eyes and she began to fill horrible again. Something moved beside her and she quickly turned, finding herself face to face with a terrifying looking thing. What it was, she wasn't sure. It seemed so oddly familiar though. She couldn't seem to place it though. It looked like a thing…not a human, not a creature.

The thing looked at her, seeming to be floating slightly. It whispered in an inaudible voice, seeming to be wanting her to understand, or even follow it.

Kate shivered, though she wasn't sure if it was from fear, cold, or fever. Slowly, she began to follow the creature through the cave, occasionally glancing around. Her mouth seemed to be glued shut and she felt like something was pulling her along. A few tears traced their way down her cheeks and her body shook again.

The thing suddenly came to a halt, and Kate stopped right behind it. She tried to look around it to see what was going on, but found that whenever she tried, it blocked her view. She closed her eyes and crossed her arms tighter, sniffling a bit. She coughed suddenly and the thing turned to face her, glaring at her hatefully. She opened her mouth to apologize, but then shut it again. The thing obviously wanted her to shut up, and what was the point of apologizing anyway? She didn't even know if the thing spoke English. She didn't even know what the thing was! So instead she stayed silent, gluing her eyes to the floor.

It seemed like they'd been standing there for quite awhile before the thing turned around again. More things of it's kind began to fill the room, and Kate suddenly remembered why this was all so familiar. Her eyes landed on the thing from her dream, the one that looked different than the others. It walked on the floor, not floating. If only it would take off it's cloak. Then maybe she could tell who it was.

The things began to gather in a circle, leaving her on the outside of it. In the middle, the creature that she seemed to recognize was. Everything was still for a moment, then the figure slowly took it's cloak off, revealing who it really was.

Kate frowned. She jumped weakly, trying to see, but when she caught sight of who it was, her jaw dropped. She fell to the ground, just staring. "Tom." she managed to mutter.


	17. Nella Memoria di amore

Only ten more chapters and this story is done.

Please review, People. I know more than the small amount of wonderful people who are reviewing read this story. Would it really hurt to take two seconds out of your life and hit that little review button? -puppy eyes- I don't even care what you type. Type: Zhoop!; for all I care. x.X At least I'll know you're reading.

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**Chapter 17**

**Nella Memoria di amore**

"**A brief candle; both ends burning  
An endless mile; a bus wheel turning  
A friend to share the lonesome times  
A handshake and a sip of wine  
So say it loud and let it ring  
We are all a part of everything  
The future, present and the past  
Fly on proud bird  
You're free at last."**

Tom looked over at her, staring at her for a moment as if he didn't recognize her. He then sighed and shook his head. "Katie…" he said softly.

Kate stared at him, shaking her head. This wasn't real. This couldn't possibly be real. "No." she said, shaking her head. "You're…you're dead." she told him.

Tom looked at her, not saying anything for a long moment. "Why are you here, Katie?" he asked her, tilting his head to the side.

Kate squeezed her eyes shut. This was just another hallucination. That's all this was. She opened her eyes again and looked at him. "I was trying to get away." she whispered.

Tom nodded his head slightly, giving her a disappointed look. "Katie, why do you always have to run?" he asked her.

Kate looked at him. "Tom, I…" her voice trailed off and she coughed once more. She looked at him sadly, trying not to cry.

Tom shook his head. "Why, Katie?" he asked her. "Why do you always have the need to run."

"You know why, Tom." Kate whispered, tears flowing down her cheeks once again. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry I killed you." She closed her eyes.

Tom's look of disappointment, turned to a sympathetic look. He shook his head. "It wasn't you're fault, Katie." He knelt down beside her and pulled her into a hug. "Don't keep blaming yourself."

Kate quickly wrapped her arms around him, not believing that he was really there. She buried her face in his shoulder. "Don't leave me again." she pleaded. "Please don't leave me again…"

Tom rubbed her back, trying to keep her gone. "I never left you to begin with, Katie." he whispered. "You never let me. And I'm never really going to leave you. I'll always be watching over you. And plus…You have Jack. He really cares for you, Katie. He loves you."

Kate shook her head, holding onto him. "But I love you…" she sobbed, coughing even more. "But I love you…"

Tom continued to rub her back. "Calm yourself down, Katie." he told her. "I can't come back." he said. He kissed her cheek. "I love you too, but there's no way we can do anything about it. And you know what? I think you love Jack more."

Kate shook her head. "I don't want Jack." she sobbed. "I want you. I just want you."

Tom stayed silent. He knew just the fact that he was there was overwhelming her completely. "Calm down, Sweetheart." he murmured in her ear, stroking her hair. "You're going to make yourself feel even more sick."

Kate continued to shake her head. "I just want /you/." she repeated over and over. He was right. She was completely overwhelmed by all of this. She held onto him, refusing to leave go. She didn't want to lose him again.

Tom pried her off of him and held her so he could look at her. He put his hand on her cheek, catching the tears as they fell. "Kate…" he whispered.

"I'll stop running." Kate cried. "I promise. Just don't leave me again. Please don't leave me again. Please."

Tom shook his head. "Stop." he told her, keeping his voice soft and calm. He put his fingers under her chin, looking at her face. "Just calm down and we'll talk…"

Kate sobbed a few more times before trying to calm herself down. She opened her eyes, looking into his, still crying softly.

"I can't stay here with you, Katie." Tom told her. "I'm dead. There's no way I can stay here with you. I have to do what I'm supposed to do and then leave…but not really leave. I'll still be in your heart and your memories and one day you'll see me again."

Kate looked at him, looking ready to simply burst into tears again. Her breath caught in her aching throat and she found herself not able to say anything to him. She wrapped her arms around him again, hugging him tightly.

Tom sighed and looked down at her. He gently ran his hand through her hair. "You have to stop running, Katie. How do you ever expect to be happy if you don't stop running?"

Kate didn't answer him, trying to block out what he was saying. She knew he was right, but she didn't want to listen to him. She was born to run. She couldn't possibly stop.

"Please, stop running, Katie." Tom said, watching her. "If you don't; things will only get worse. I have to go, and I can't if you're still running."

"So…So I'm holding you back?" Kate asked, quietly. Maybe that wasn't such a bad thing. If she kept running, then he wouldn't leave.

Tom nodded slightly. "Yeah. You are." he told her. Almost reading her mind, he added, "But running isn't going to do you any good, Katie. And what are you going to do about Jack? He loves you. And I know you love him back."

Kate quickly shook her head. "I don't love him." she lied in a whisper. "I love you." She glanced up at him.

Tom sighed and looked at her. "So if you had a choice of either me going or him dying, you'd pick him dying?" he asked.

Kate looked down, trying to figure out how to change the question so she wouldn't have to answer it. She would do almost anything to keep Jack from dying. Almost. She wasn't so sure about letting Tom leave her though. "I don't know." she replied finally.

Tom sighed, shaking his head slightly. "I want you to stop running, Katie." he said. "You say you love me. So will you do that for me? Will you stop running and let me go?"

Kate looked back up at him again. She knew that sometimes when you loved things, you had to let them go. She'd learned that lesson too many times. "But, Tom…" her raspy voice trailed off.

"Will you do it for me?" Tom asked her. "Will you stop running for me because you love me? I promise you that I will never really leave you. I'll be in your memories…and in your heart." He kissed her on the cheek.

"Tom…I…I can't…"

"Yes, you can." Tom told her. "You have Jack. You say you love me more, but I know it's a lie, Katie."

Kate closed her eyes, hugging him again. "But I miss you." she whispered, shaking slightly. She choked on another sob, more tears finding their way down her cheeks.

"I know." Tom told her. "But I told you. I'll always be with you."

Kate continued to hug him for several moments, not saying anything. She finally looked back up at him. "Will you…Will you at least help me find my way back to camp? And make sure my friends get back safe too?"

Tom nodded his head. "I'll help you find your way back to camp." he told her. "And I'll make sure your friends get back to you."

"Alright." Kate said, looking up at him. She shakily pushed herself up so she was standing, grabbing his shoulder as dizziness rushed over her.

Tom put his hands on her arms as she stood, making sure she didn't fall over. "You should get lots of rest when you get back." he told her, looking at her in concern.

Kate nodded her head slightly, slowly leaving go of him as the dizzy spell passed. "How do we get out of here?" she asked, looking around.

Tom took her hand in his, lacing their fingers. "This way." he said. He began heading further into the cave, making sure she was right beside him at all times.

Kate leaned against him, staring at him as she walked beside him. She couldn't believe Tom was really there with her. She sighed and leaned her head against his shoulder, quite tired.

Tom glanced down at her. He reached over, placing his hand on her forehead. "I think you'll be fine until we get back." he told her, tucking her hair behind her ear.

Kate nodded her head slightly. She continued to walk, the cave seeming to go on forever. A light finally appeared though and Kate looked towards it, sighing slightly.

Tom stopped at the exit of the cave. "We have to be quiet." he whispered. He glanced around carefully, then pulled her out, trying to hide behind whatever they could.

Kate looked at him curiously, wondering why they had to be quiet. She didn't make any sounds, though it was challenging not to cough.

Tom continued through the jungle, making sure that no one heard or caught them. He finally stopped and turned to her, placing his hands on her arms again. "I think you can make it back from here." he whispered. "Just keep going straight and you'll end up on the beach. I love you." He leaned over and kissed her cheek once more.

Kate wrapped her arms around him, leaning her head against his shoulder. She swallowed her tears and hugged him tightly, not pulling back until he made her.

Tom held her at arms length, looking at her for a moment. "Behave yourself, Katie. I love you." he told her. He kissed her cheek again, then disappeared.

Kate stared at the spot he'd been standing in for a several moments. ""I love you too." she whispered back finally. With a deep sigh, she wiped her eyes, then turned and began walking.

Time passed by slowly, and Kate got even more tired. She finally stopped to rest, leaning against a tree and closing her eyes. A few voices not too far away caught her ear and she opened her eyes again. Curiosity got the better of her, and she stood up straight, heading towards the voices as silently as she could. She finally stopped a few feet away, looking through a bush to see what was going on. She was shocked at what she saw. There in front of her stood Jack, Sawyer, Jessie, and Jayla, all being held at gunpoint. She blinked a few times, making sure this was all real. All of them looked horrified as they listened to Them talk. Before she knew what was happening, a few gunshots rang out. She watched as Jack dropped to the ground, soon followed by Sawyer. Getting up, she took off before she was next.

She ran as fast as she could, forgetting about how tired and sick she felt. Jack had been shot. Jack had been /shot/. She hadn't seen where the bullet had hit him, but she knew it had hit him. She ran until a few hours later she stumbled onto the beach. She fell onto the sand, gasping for breath. The world around her went back and she simply passed out right where she was.

It was dark out when Kate finally woke up. A small moan escaped her lips as she slowly pushed herself up into a sitting position. She wasn't sitting for long, falling over backwards without even realizing it. A few rain drops fell down onto her warm face and she knew she should take shelter before it was too late, but she couldn't get up. Luckily the rain didn't get much harder, and it cooled her down quite a bit. Her eyes slowly began to close again and she fell asleep where she was.


	18. Tutto il da solo

**Chapter 18**

**Tutto il da solo**

"**There is no greater sorrow than to recall in misery the time when we were happy."**

Kate woke up to the sun shining in her eyes. She shifted slightly on the damp sand and rubbed her eyes. At first she forgot where she was and what had happened, but then it all came crashing back to her. Was Jack alright? Had they gotten back? Was he dead? She slowly sat up, then looked around, horror and tears quickly filling her eyes as she noticed her surroundings.

The beach was completely empty of any living creatures. Bloodied bodies lie all around her, all with multiple gunshot wounds. Them had killed all of them. She swallowed hard and crossed her arms tightly, simply looking around at all of her dead friends. She closed her eyes, about to break, but then seemed to change her mind. She wasn't going to cry. No matter how bad she was hurting, she wasn't going to let herself cry. She needed to be brave. She needed to be strong.

Standing up, Kate stared at the once golden sand, now red with blood. She swallowed again, and walked over to their homemade shovel that they had used to bury so many others. She picked it up, then started on the first hole. She miserably dug as deep as she figured the hole needed to be, then dragged the first body over and lied it down in, burying it. She'd make her own little funeral for everyone later. She grabbed some sticks and made a cross with a name on it for the first person, then put it on the grave.

Digging over forty graves took hours of work, even longer when the person digging was sick. When she was almost done, she stopped to take a break, freezing as she heard a noise in the jungle. Fear filled her eyes and she found her feet glued to the ground, unable to move.

The golden retriever walked out of the jungle and onto the beach, staring up at Kate with it's big brown eyes. It walked over to her and barked slightly, then sat down, expecting to be pet.

Kate sighed, a look of relief spreading across her face. She knelt down by the dog, wrapping her arms around it and hugging it tightly. "Vincent." she said, petting him. She buried her face in his golden fur, happy that there was at least another living thing with her, that wasn't going to kill her. She hugged her for several moments before standing up again. She took his leash, not wanting him to leave her. "Come on. Let's go get some water." she said.

She walked over to the container holding their water bottles and grabbed one out of it. It was slightly warm, but she didn't care. She uncapped it then took a long drink, closing her eyes as she did so. Leaving about half in the bottle, she knelt down and poured it in the smaller contained that Vincent normally drank out of. She let him drink it, then led him back to the graves.

"Stay." She said, slowly letting go of the leash. She watched him for a moment, then began digging again.

Vincent sat down, watching her carefully. He tilted his head to the side, then stood up again. He walked over to her and began to help dig.

Kate glanced down at him. She smiled smally, then continued with digging. "Thanks." she said, quietly, not caring that she was talking to a dog.

The two of them continued digging side by side until all the graves were dug and had crosses with names on them. Kate grabbed Vincent's leash again and stepped back, looking at all of the graves. She wasn't sure what to say, or even if she should say anything. "They were great friends, weren't they?" she whispered, looking down at Vincent. She held her breath for a moment, holding her tears back again. "It's just you and me now."

Vincent looked up at her as she talked, though looked like he had no idea what she was saying, which he didn't. He lied down on the sand and rolled over onto his stomach.

Kate slowly sat down beside him. She rubbed his stomach, turning to stared out at the ocean. Everything seemed so calm and peaceful compared to the storm inside of her. She coughed a few times, then looked up at the sky for a moment, watching the clouds.

She began to think of all the wonderful times she'd shared with Jack throughout their stay on the island.

She thought of when she first met him; how she sewed up his side right after the plane crash. About how he told her to count to five when she got scared. About the time he brought her guava seeds to make up for a fight they had had. Their first kiss and how upset she was when it had happened.

Her eyes began to tear up again, through she struggled not to let herself cry. "You promised!" she cried out suddenly, startling Vincent a bit. "You promised me he would be safe!" she screamed up at the sky. "You promised me, Tom!" She choked on a sob and grabbed a handful of sand, throwing it. "You said he would be okay!" She wiped the sand off of her hand, then buried her face in her hands. "You promised." she whispered, shaking her head. "Why did you lie to me?!" She began shouting again. "I know I did horrible things! But I told you I'd stop running! I was going to stop! Why isn't Jack safe?!" She stopped, almost as if expecting an answer. She knew she wasn't going to get an answer though.

There was nothing but an awkward silence after Kate stopped yelling. She tried to stay quiet, but found she couldn't. "Why did you let him get shot?!" she yelled, sure that Tom couldn't even hear her. She couldn't bear the silence though. "I want Jack!" She crossed her arms, beginning to cough again. "Jack!" she choked, squeezing her eyes shut. She wondered if counting worked when it came to missing someone too.

1

Things will be okay.

2

Jack will be back.

3

He has to come back.

4

I need him.

5

She ended up crying again. So it didn't work like it did for fear. "Why?" she asked. Once again, she got no answer. She lied down on the sand again, keeping her face buried in her hands. "Why?" she repeated.

What was she going to do? What was the point? She was stranded alone on an island with only a dog for company. There was no hope in rescue. She had no idea if Jack was coming back. If any of her friends were coming back. She couldn't do anything right away though. It hadn't really been that long, though being so defeated made it seem like it had. She'd give it a day, maybe two. If no one came, then she knew she wasn't going to be able to make it alone. She'd just dig Vincent a hole, kill him first, then dig herself a hole and kill herself.

If she was going to survive for the next day or too though, she couldn't just lie around on the sand. Once again, she finished her crying. Getting up, she glanced around. It'd be best to hit Sawyer's tent first. If no one got into any of his stuff while he was gone, she was sure to find food, weapons, whatever she needed in there. She headed for Sawyer's tent, bringing Vincent with her. "Maybe we should head to the caves after this." she said quietly. "Maybe I can find some medicine." She walked into Sawyer's tent and looked around, trying to figure out where he kept everything.

It took awhile of look, since Sawyer kept his stuff hidden very well. She wandered around, but almost tripped over something hard. "I think we might have found it." she said, glancing down at Vincent. She knelt down and began to brush the sand away from the floor, sure enough finding a large piece of metal. She shifted slightly, putting her hands under one of the ends, then lifted it up, leaning it against the airline seats Sawyer used for a bed. Grabbing the blue tarp that was under it, she moved it slightly so she could see if anything was in the hole. Sure enough, there were guns. She sighed in relief and picked one up, then grabbed a box of bullets. "This should keep us safe for awhile." she told Vincent.

Vincent yawned and glanced up at her as she spoke. He lied down and shut his eyes, not caring all that much.

Kate sighed and looked at him. She loaded the gun, made sure it was on safety, then stuck it in her back pocket. She grabbed a few more boxes of ammo, then looked around some more. "Wonder what else he has in here." she said. She continued to look through everything, grabbing food, weapons…all that she could find. Anything would probably be helpful to her.


	19. Verità indicata

This chapter is extremely short. I'm sorry. I don't want to scare my readers away by letting them think that everyone but Kate is dead, so I wrote this chapter.

I'm thinking about starting a new story, but I'm not sure what. I was thinking maybe LOST in highschool or right when the plane crashes and just have it play out different...I'm not sure. If anyone has any ideas for any of those or even any plot ideas, I'd love to hear because I have major writers block for writing something new.

* * *

**Chapter 19**

**Verità indicata**

"**The truth which has made us free, will in the end, make us glad also."**

Jack limped through the dense jungle, hoping his was going in the right direction. Having been shot in the leg, he really needed to get back to camp and get himself fixed. The bullet hadn't been deep, and he'd managed to get it out, but he still needed to clean the wound and fix it up. He'd been walking since only about an hour after he'd gotten shot, but he only had covered about half, maybe even less, of the distance he would have if he hadn't been shot.

He was alone now, not sure where Sawyer or anyone else was. Them had made him get up and get going, and the last thing remembered about Sawyer was him holding his shoulder and not being allowed to get up. Jack was going to fight them, but realized he should probably head back to the beach to see if Kate had made it back alright.

Was Kate even alive though? He tried not to think of that, but it managed to plague his mind anyway. Had she escaped? Did she make it to the beach? Was she somewhere lost in the jungle? Did they hurt her? Did they kill her? He wasn't sure he even wanted to know the answers.

Meanwhile, Sawyer, Jessie, and Jayla were following a bit behind Jack. After Jack had gone, they'd been let up and told to scram. They were trying to follow him as best as they could, looking for footprints, broken branches, anything they could possibly find to tell them that they were heading in the right direction. Turns out, they all were horrible trackers. Somehow, they managed to stay five to ten minutes behind Jack, but not even realize it.


	20. Da Solo

First off. Thanks for reviewing, Yellosh. I've started collecting ideas for my new story.

Here's the next chapter.

* * *

**Chapter 20**

**Da Solo**

"**It's easy to cry when you realize that everyone you love will reject you or die."**

Kate had almost everything that she needed now. Food. Water. Stuff for her shelter. It would last her the two or three days that she planned to live. Now all she needed was medicine. She'd have to go to the infirmary to get that. That meant going to Jack's cave. She wasn't sure if she could handle that. She felt horrible though and knew it would only get worse if she didn't go. With a deep sigh, she closed her eyes for a moment, then grabbed Vincent's leash once more. "Now we have to go get more stuff." she said quietly.

The dog lazily got up, watching as she slung her backpack over her right shoulder. He didn't seem to want to move all that much, but oh well. Whatever his new master wanted. Yawning, he stretched than followed her out of Sawyer's tent.

Before heading to the caves, Kate walked over to her own shelter. She went inside and took out all that she had just put in her backpack. She began to organize it, knowing she was simply stalling so that she wouldn't have to go to the caves. Things got organized pretty quickly though, since her shelter really wasn't all that big. Getting up, she looked down at Vincent again. "Come on, Buddy."

The dog looked up at her, seeming to be getting a bit annoyed by the constant stopping and going. He sighed and yawned again, then began to follow her out of the tent.

The whole way, Kate felt nervous. Half because she was going to Jack's tent, half because she was walking in the jungle alone and it was possible for Them to come and get her once more. Even though she was alone, she'd rather be alone than have those people take her again.

It didn't take long to get to the caves. It was maybe a fifteen minute walk normally, though with Vincent sniffing everything in site, it might have taken twenty to twenty-five minutes. Kate stood outside, not sure if she wanted to go in or not. She wasn't sure if she could go in. She needed medicine though. Without it, she probably wouldn't even be fine enough to last the two or three days she planned on waiting. Taking a deep breath, she headed in the caves.

_Just get the medicine, then get out. That's all you need to do._

Kate walked into the infirmary and over to where Jack kept his medicine. She opened the bag and began to look through it. There wasn't much in there, but it wasn't like anyone else but her was going to be needing it now. With a sigh, she pulled out a few bottles and looked them over, then took off her backpack and put them in there. On second though, maybe she should take the rest. She didn't want to have to come back to the caves anymore. With a sigh, she picked up the rest and shoved it in her backpack. There. Now she could go.

Turning, she went to head back out of the caves, but ended up in a coughing fit. She stood there in Jack's cave, coughing for what seemed like five minutes straight. Once she was okay again, she leaned against the cave wall and closed her eyes for a moment, a dizzy spell overcoming her. It made it hard to be in Jack's cave while she was sick since he wasn't there to make her feel better. She took a breath and moved away from the wall, but ended up falling sideways onto a pile of Jack's clothes.

_Just get up and get back to your shelter, Kate._

A voice seemed to be talking in her head, though she wasn't sure if it was just her thoughts or what. She was pretty feverish and might have just been hallucinating. What the voice was saying though sounded like a wise idea. She slowly moved to get back up, but couldn't help but look down at the pile of clothes she was lying on. She picked up one of his shirts and brought it up to her face, inhaling his scent. She'd always loved the way he smelled. It was a mixture of cologne, sweat, and burning wood. She closed her eyes, hugging the shirt tighter, finding herself unable to move. She sniffled slightly and buried her face in his shirt more, her tears beginning to make it a bit damp. "Jack." she whispered, gathering more of his clothes and hugging them close. She whimpered softly, shaking her head. Out of all of her life, she had never felt this horrible. Never.

She sat there for awhile, just hugging his clothes and rocking herself back and forth. Finally, she had to pull herself away. She opened her backpack and shoved as many of his shirts in there as she could fit. She needed to take some of his stuff back with her. She needed something of his with her, just to keep her going for the next few days.

"Come on, Vincent. Let's go back." She whispered after several moments. Slowly, she stood and put her backpack over her shoulder again. She turned, shocked to see Jack standing there in front of her, blood soaking his entire body. She blinked, and then he was gone again. "Jack?!" she asked in confusion, looking around the cave.

Thunder cracked loudly outside, signaling an oncoming storm.

Kate ran her hand through her hair, still looking around. She drew in a shaky breath and closed her eyes for a moment. "Come on, Vincent." she murmured. She began to head out of the cave and towards the beach, wanting to make it back before the rain started. Rain was not something she wanted to be in.

She rubbed her forehead, not really even bothering to look around as she walked. Her eyes stayed glued in front of her, her gaze not even drifting as things around her made noises in the jungle. Had she really just seen Jack back there in the caves? It couldn't have been Jack. He wouldn't have just disappeared like that. She glanced down at Vincent. "I think I'm going crazy." she whispered quietly. She probably shouldn't have glanced down, because as soon as she looked back up, Jack was standing on the path right in front of her. She stopped dead in her tracks, looking at his blood covered body. "Jack…" she said, uncertainly. She waited for a rely, but got none. "Jack…" she tried once more, getting scared now. She took a step towards him, reaching to put her hand on his arm. In the blink of an eye, he disappeared once more.

Whispers began to fill the jungle.

_Who's that?_

_It's that girl from before_

_Should we capture her?_

_Nah. She looks miserable. We'll leave her suffer and die_.

Kate picked up her speed, really thinking she was crazy now. She ran her hand through her hair and glanced around. Giving up on speed walking, she broke into a run, getting back to the beach in half the time. Stumbling onto the sand, she fell onto her hands and knees, staying there for a moment to catch her breath. Maybe she was simply hallucinating. Maybe if she went to sleep, she'd wake up and everything would be fine. Well. Nothing would be fine. But maybe her mind would be at least slightly more clear. Yeah. Sleep sounded good.

Getting up, she headed for her tent, pulling Vincent along with her. Once inside, she sat down on her airline couch and placed the backpack beside her. Unzipping it, she dug through it until she found some medicine that would bring her fever down. She popped one of the pills into her mouth then grabbed a water bottle and took a drink to wash it down. She put the water bottle back down, then looked down at Vincent. She took his leash and attached it to the seat. "Stay." she said quietly, before turning back to her backpack. She pulled out one of Jack's shirts and held it up to her face again. Shifting slightly, she moved her backpack onto the floor and lied down, hugging Jack's shirt as if it was a stuffed animal. "I love you, Jack." she murmured, before drifting off.


	21. Incagliato

Thanks for reviewing.

You'll get your Jate reunion in the last chapter...Hang in there till then. It's really not that far off.

Disclaimer: Savin' Me belongs to Nickelback.

How Kate knows it; no clue...but it got me closer to 50,000 words.

* * *

**Chapter 21**

**Incagliato**

"**I think we dream so we don't have to be apart so long. If we're in each others dreams, we can be together all the time."**

_Kate headed through the dark jungle, not quite sure where she was or where she was going. Everything around her was silent, not even a cool breeze blowing like it normally did. The air was slightly cold, unusual for the tropical island. She noticed these differences, but just kept walking, not even heading back to camp. _

Once again, some for seemed to be pulling her in the direction that she was supposed to be going. There was no movement around her, the dark things that she felt should be leading her long gone. Was she dreaming? She couldn't really tell. If she was, then it felt quite real. Her head and stomach were aching, and it really felt as if she were actually walking.

Hours seemed to pass as she walked, the time going by quite quickly though. She had no idea where she was going, but at the same time, she felt that she would recognize the place as soon as she got there. It was as if she had traveled there before, though she knew that she hadn't. Sorta like déjà vu.

Feeling tired, she tried to slow down, but she couldn't seem to.

It was quite suddenly when something finally moved in the jungle, and Kate turned quickly to see what it was, though she saw absolutely nothing. Taking in a deep breath, she closed her eyes for a moment and counted to five, chasing away her fear. She was fine. Alone and afraid maybe. But nothing was going to get her. She tried to convince herself that she was fine and would continue to be fine.

There was another movement, a slight rattling behind a few tall bushes. It sounded as if whatever it was was slightly big, but it didn't seem to want to come out. Or maybe it was stuck in there.

Kate eyed the bushes carefully, tilting her head to the side a bit. She felt as if she should keep on moving, but her curiosity was getting the best of her.

Curiosity killed the cat.

Curiosity killed cat.

Curiosity killed Kate.

Kate stepped forward a bit toward the bush, her hands shaking slightly. What if it was nothing? Just the wind? It wasn't windy. Just a bird? A bird wouldn't be that big. Jack? Maybe it was her friends. Maybe they were all really alive. She stepped forward even more. "Who's there?" she whispered nervously, shifting a bit uncomfortable. "Jack?" she asked hesitantly. Slowly, she reached her hand forward and moved some of the leaves on the bush.

There was nothing there.

It had to have just been the wind. There was not really many other explanations for what it could have been. Sighing in relief, Kate turned around, yelping when she came face to face with a blood covered Jack. "Jack." she whispered, breathing heavily. She stared at the blood in horror. "Are...Are you okay?" she asked.

Dumb question. Of course he wasn't okay. He was covered in blood.

She hesitantly reached forward to touch him, a bit startled when he pulled away from her. "Jack." she repeated. "What...What happened?"

"Look what you did, Kate." Jack whispered in a cold voice. "Look at all the trouble you've caused."

Kate stared at him with wide eyes, shaking her head. "But...But I didn't do anything." she told him, reaching out to touch him again. "Jack, what happened?"

One of Jack's bloody hands grabbed Kate's arm, yanking her to him, not caring that he was getting his blood all over her. "Look what you did, Kate." he repeated. "Look at all the trouble you've caused. Stop running."

"But...But I'm not running anymore." Kate told him, shaking her head. "I'm not. I swear. Just...Just come back to camp with me and let me fix you up."

"Stop running, Kate." Jack told her, letting go of her. He began to back up into the bushes. "Stop running."

"Jack!" Kate said, following him. "Stop it." she whispered. "You're scaring me."

Jack shook his head. "Stop running." He backed into one of the bushes.

Kate followed him, pushing away the leaves and branches on the bush, only to find no Jack.

Kate snapped awake, almost falling off the airline seats she was sleeping on. She quickly sat up, looking around her shelter. What had just happened? Her breathing rate began to slow and she leaned sideways against the back of the seat, trying to calm herself down. She shut her eyes for a moment and rubbed her sweat forehead, frowning when she felt something even more wet rubbing off of her hand and one her head. She pulled her hand back and opened her eyes, looking down at it, almost screaming at the blood.

Instead of screaming, she just felt sick. She looked down at the rest of her body, shocked to see herself covered in blood. She quickly jumped up and took her shirt and pants off, throwing them outside of her tent. Grabbing a bottle of water, she began to wash the blood off of herself, then looked to see where it was coming from, though she couldn't seem to find the source. She reached over and picked up the shirt she had been hugging, watching as the blood simply poured off of it. She tossed the shirt out with her other clothes and sat down, pulling her knees to her chest and rocking herself back and forth.

"I want Jack. I want Jack." She whispered over and over as if if she kept repeating it, he would just appear out of nowhere. "Jack." she whispered.

Swallowing hard, she reached over for the medicine again, opening the bottle. She swallowed a pill, not even bothering with water.

She couldn't do this. She wasn't sure if she could last like this. Tears filled her eyes and leaked down her pale cheeks. She needed out of this place. She couldn't stay here. She couldn't make it anymore days. "Please, Jack." she whispered, almost to herself. "Just come. Tom promised me that you would be safe." She slowly stopped rocking and reached over, grabbing some more clothes. She looked them over to make sure there was no blood on them, then slowly slipped them on. She was too afraid to even touch Jack's clothes, just incase they started to leak blood too.

She took a few deep breaths, then slowly pushed herself up onto her feet. She glanced down at Vincent to make sure he was still there, then slowly stepped outside of her tent, quickly stepping back in when she realized it was pouring down rain. "I guess were stuck in here." she muttered. "Though it might not be such a bad thing." She sat back down on the sandy floor and hugged her knees, resting her chin on top of them.

Reaching behind her, she slowly slid the gun out of her pockets, holding onto it tightly. It made her feel much more safe to simply just be holding the thing. "Think we might need this during the next few days?" she asked, looking down at Vincent. "I'm getting kinda hungry. How about you?"

Vincent yawned and looked up at her. He tilted his head to the side, then glanced around, before looking back up at her again.

Kate sighed, wishing she had something that would give her an actual answer. "I'm just going to take that as a yes." she said. She walked over to the food she'd gotten out of Sawyer's tent and looked at it. Her stomach was still a bit iffy, so she figured she'd be better off just eating something small. She picked up a piece of guava and then a knife she'd also taken. Using the knife, she split the guava into two equal parts, giving half to Vincent. She watched him eat for a moment, then took a bite from her own piece of fruit.

She ate slowly, just realizing how hungry she had really been, despite her stomach hurting her. Wiping a bit of juice off of her chin with her arm, she leaned back against a piece of metal that was helping to hold up her tent. Sighing inaudibly, she licked the juice off of her fingers, then tosses what she hadn't eaten outside. She began to rock back and forth a bit, just listening to the rain. It was sort of calming, though nothing could really calm her down all the way…except maybe Jack. Or even Sawyer. She needed someone. Just one of her friends would be wonderful. Tom had lied to her though. Her friends weren't going to come back.

Half bored, half feeling like she was simply going crazy, she began to sing softly to herself, just to try to occupy herself.

"Prison gates won't open up for me

On these hands and knees I'm crawlin'

Oh, I reach for you

Well I'm terrified of these four walls

These iron bars can't hold my soul in

All I need is you

Come, please, I'm callin'

And oh, I scream for you

Hurry, I'm fallin'

I'm fallin'

Show me what it's like

To be the last one standing

And teach me wrong from right

And I'll show you what I can be

And say it for me

Say it to me

And I'll leave this life behind me

Say it if it's worth savin' me

Heaven's gates won't open up for me

With these broken wings I'm fallin'

All I see is you

These city walls ain't got no love for me

I'm on the ledge of the eighteenth story

Oh, I scream for you

Come, please, I'm callin'

And all I need from you

Hurry, I'm fallin'

I'm fallin'

Show me what it's like

To be the last one standing

And teach me wrong from right

And I'll show you what I can be

And say it for me

Say it to me

And I'll leave this life behind me

Say it if it's worth savin' me

Hurry, I'm fallin'

And all I need is you

Come, please, I'm callin'

And, oh, I scream for you

Hurry, I'm fallin'

I'm fallin'

I'm fallin'

Show me what it's like

To be the last one standing

And teach me wrong from right

And I'll show you what I can be

And say it for me

Say it to me

And I'll leave this life behind me

Say it if it's worth savin' me

Hurry, I'm fallin'

Say it for me

Say it to me

And I'll leave this life behind me

Say it if it's worth savin' me…"

Kate lied down on the sand, resting her head on her arms. Obviously, she wasn't worth saving. She found it unfair, but deep down, she knew it was fair. Out of all the things she had done, this was probably the only punishment that would be effective. Tear her from the ones she loved, just like she'd done to so many people. Leave her alone, sick, depressed, stranded, with no way of escape but death.

She began to doodle in the sand with her fingers, not even sure what she was doodling. She had never been good at art, so the only things she could actually draw were flowers and stick figures. Shaking her head, she rubbed her hands together to get the sand off, then stared at her tent flap. "I really am going crazy." she muttered, mainly to herself.


	22. Abbassamento

**Chapter 22**

**Abbassamento**

"**Ah. So you're just going to sink your way off the island. Sayid would be proud."**

Maybe she was going crazy. Or maybe the island was just trying to make her feel like she was. Kate didn't know. Something was going on though. It wasn't normal to be seeing things and then having them disappear before they could be found out to be real or not. She had a feeling that none of what she was seeing was real, but for some reason, seeing it still scared her. She just couldn't seem to convince herself that it was fake, even though somehow, she knew it was.

With a deep sigh, she ran her hand through her hair, listening to the rain slowly stop. She had a feeling she wouldn't be going outside though, rain or no rain. There was really no point in it. There was nothing out there she needed. She would have loved to 'sink' for awhile, but could she be sure that if she went out there nothing would get her?

Standing up, she grabbed Vincent's leash. "I think we'll be fine for at least a few minutes." she told him, slowly heading outside. She stopped right outside of her tent and nervously looked around, making sure no one or nothing was out there. Everything seemed to be fine.

Bare feet made footprints in the soft wet sand on their way to the water's edge. Waves crashed in hard on the shore, still strong from the recent storm. She wasn't going out too far though. Stopping a bit away from where they were crashing down, she let the water wash over her feet and take the sand out from under them, making her sink.

She closed her eyes and crossed her arms, just thinking. Thinking about everything. Sinking seemed to calm her enough to give her time to clear her mind. She felt no need to be running around when she was sinking. Maybe if she could clear her mind, then she wouldn't be hallucinating anymore. Her thoughts began to drift, flashing back to a good memory she had with Jack.

_The steady sound of the waves was peaceful and calming, seeming to take all of her cares for the day with them as they washed back out into the ocean. She had no idea how long she had been standing where she was, or how long Jack had been behind her watching her. It had been a stressful morning though and she felt that she deserved at least part of the afternoon to just stand still and relax._

_He obviously felt the same way, since he had been standing there staring at her._

"_Sinking again?" Jack asked finally, taking a few steps towards her, watching her curiously._

_Kate opened her eyes, slightly shocked that he was there. She turned her head, smiling slightly and nodded. "Mmhmm." she replied. "It kinda helps with the stress." She shrugged slightly, expecting him to just laugh at her._

_Jack looked at her, then nodded slightly. He sat down on the sand and began to take his shoes off. "Mind if I join you?" he asked her. "I've never done this before. It looks more hard than relaxing."_

_Kate smiled at him. "It's not that hard." she told him. She watched him take his shoes off, then reached for his hand when he began to stand._

_Jack stood up. He looked at her hand and blinked a few times, then took it in his own. "So…you just stand here?" he asked her, moving forward slightly._

"_Yup." Kate told him, nodding her head. "You have to close your eyes too." She turned to face the ocean again and shut her eyes, letting the water rush up over her feet._

_Jack also closed his eyes, letting the water come up. So far so good. It was when it went out he began to have a problem. The earth seemed to move and he seemed to be standing still. Quite suddenly, he simply fell over._

_Kate squealed when he fell over, falling over on top of him. A large wave came and washed over them, sending them a bit further up the beach. She coughed slightly, then looked down at Jack, a smirk spreading across her lips. "Nice one."_

_Jack blinked a few times, then chuckled. "Sorry." he said, moving to get up, but then realizing he couldn't since she was on top of him._

_Kate paused a moment, then got up off of him. She smiled slightly and held her hand down to help him up. "Promise not to make me fall this time?" she teased._

_Jack laughed. "I don't think I can make that promise." he told her, standing up. "How do you just stand there without falling over?" he asked her._

_Kate smiled. "Come here." she said. She kept a hold of his hand and pulled him back to where the had been standing. "You have to pretend that you're moving with everything." she told him. "Close your eyes."_

_Jack looked at her unsurely for a moment, then turned slightly and closed his eyes._

_Kate smiled and watched him. "And now think of something." she told him. She too closed her eyes, keeping a hold of his hand. She was thinking of him, but she didn't know that he was also thinking of her too._

Kate opened her eyes, looking down slightly. She pulled her feet out of the hole that they had made and let the water wash the sand off of them, though there was really no point since they would just get even more sandy as she walked back to her shelter.

Sinking really seemed to have help calm her. Even if she had been thinking of Jack, and it made her miss him even more. "Come on." she said to Vincent, not feeling quite as stupid as she had before about simply talking to a dog like it was going to listen and understand her. After all, at least she wasn't talking to a rock or something. At least she had something that was alive that she could talk to. She didn't think she could stand not talking at all.

Vincent stood up, now soaked with water, though he didn't seem to mind. It was hot out anyway. He began to follow Kate as she headed back to her tent.

Kate slowly made her way back to her tent, the hot sun beating down on her, making her feel even more warm than she already was. She knew she shouldn't take any more medicine, since she had just recently took some. She pushed the tarp tent flap away then walked inside her tent, the shade making it a little bit better.

Jack would have been taking care of her if he was here, she knew it. Right now he probably would have been holding her and doing everything in his power to make her feel better. That's what he had done before. And even when there was nothing to make her feel better with, he still held her, even as she slept, just as he had done back when they had been with Them.

_Going to the caves and getting help had not been one of the things she had wanted to do. But her fever was getting higher and Sawyer had told her that if she didn't go, then he was going to pick her up and carry her there. So there she was, on her way to the caves to get help. _

_The flu had been going around. A number of the castaways had had it over the last few days. It only seemed to be a twenty-four hour bug, but it really took a lot out of you._

_The warm sun seemed to heat up everything, even though the shade of the trees seemed to be never ending. If only she could just find a cool place and lie down and just go to sleep until she was completely better. That seemed so much better than going to the caves and having Jack be all worried about her and probably have her load up on medicine and such. She didn't want to waste their supplies, just because she was a bit sick. Okay. So maybe she was more than just a bit sick. But she still thought going to Jack was completely pointless._

_The air didn't seem to get any cooler, even as she headed inside the caves. Normally it was freezing there to her, but it was just as hot in there as it was under the sun right now, in her opinion. She had no idea where Jack was, and wondered if she could get away with leaving before he spotted her. Then she could just go back to the beach and tell Sawyer that she had went to the caves, but couldn't find Jack. _

_Jack watched her curiously from in his cave, wondering what she was doing. Normally she never came to the caves, and she looked a bit confused and out of it. Standing up, he headed into the main part of the caves. "Hey, Kate." he said, walking over to her. "You okay?"_

_Kate jumped slightly as he came up behind her, then turned around, blinking a few times. "Yeah. Yeah. I'm fine." she told him, trying to sound normal. "I just um…came to get some more water." She forced a smile._

_Jack nodded his head slightly. "Well…The water is over there." he said, pointing. "And I don't see why you ran all the way to the caves. I just took some more water to the beach about an hour ago."_

"_Oh." Kate replied, chancing a laugh which came out really nervous. "I um…I didn't check for water there." she said._

_Jack nodded slowly, studying her face. "Are you alright?" he asked her. "You look really flushed."_

"_I'm fine." Kate replied quickly, even though it was a complete lie. She felt like she could just curl up and die right now. Everything was aching, she was way too hot…_

"_Alright." Jack said, not believing her at all. "Something's going around. How about you let me have a look at you just to make sure you're not getting it?" he suggested._

"_I have to go to the beach and do stuff." Kate replied, shaking her head. "I need pick some more fruit and stuff like that."_

_Jack sighed, not wanting to force her if she didn't want to get some medicine. "Alright." he said. "I'll be here if you need me though."_

_Kate smiled slightly. "Thanks." she said, then turned walked out, frowning to herself. Why did she have to be so stubborn? Would help have really been that bad? At least she would have felt better._

_Jack had worried about her all day. He had eventually told Charlie to go watch her and make sure that she was okay, which he did. _

_Things had been fine for most of the rest of the day. Charlie occasionally sent other people back to the caves to report to him how Kate was doing and such. It wasn't until it was dark out and Jack was just getting ready to go to bed until Charlie rushed into the caves out of breath. "Jack., you gotta go to the beach."_

_Jack looked at him, frowning slightly. He put his pajamas back down. "Why?" he asked. "What happened?"_

"_I don't know." Charlie told him. "She…she…was just walkin' and then she collapsed to her knees outside her tent. She got sick and now she ain't even bothering to try and get up."_

_Jack's frown grew. Without another word, he turned and headed quickly to the beach. Why hadn't he just helped her earlier? Forcing her would have been better than letting her suffer and then having to run and get her. He paused when he got to the beach and glanced towards her shelter. Great. She'd gone inside. Now he was going to have to convince her to let him in so he could help. He rubbed his forehead and walked over to her tent, knocking gently on the tent flap. "Kate." he said softly._

_There was no reply._

_Jack sighed. He pulled the tent flap and walked in, finding her sitting on the floor, hugging her knees. He sighed and knelt down beside her, placing his hand on her forehead. "Come on, Kate. Let me take you to the caves." he said, putting on hand around her and one under her knees, picking her up._

_Kate didn't refuse. She wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist, letting him pick her up and carry her toward the caves. She felt horrible. Absolutely horrible. Her chin trembled slightly and a few tears leaked onto his shirt as she buried her face in his shoulder._

_Jack rubbed her back gently, trying to comfort her. "Shh." he soothed, glancing at her. "We're almost there." He leaned his head against hers, holding her close. He had a feeling that in the morning she'd pretend that she hadn't even been sick, but for now, he was going to take care of her._

_Kate sniffled, keeping a tight hold on his shirt. She too knew that in the morning she would pretend like this never happen and get on with her normal life, but for now, she was going to let him take care of her._

_Jack carried her into the caves and back to the infirmary, placing her on the cot there. He waited for her to leave go, then grabbed his bag, searching through it. He pulled out a thermometer, then looked up to see her staring at it in disgust. "Don't worry." he said. "I sterilized it and I haven't even used it on anyone yet." He waited a moment, then turned it on and handed it to her._

_Kate stared at it a moment, then put it in her mouth, watching him as he continued to go through his bag._

_Jack gave her a comforting smile, then pulled a bottle of medicine out of his bag. He put it down and took the thermometer from her when it beeped. Looking at it, he frowned. She had a fever of 103."Here. This'll bring your fever down." he told her, taking a pill from the bottle and handing it to her. He handed her a bottle of water also. "I'll be right back." Turning, he headed out of the infirmary._

_Kate took the pill and drank some of the water, then slowly lied down on the cot. She hoped he didn't send her back to her tent, because she really didn't feel like she could move. Not bothering to see where Jack went, she shut her eyes, sighing to herself._

_Jack came back in a few moments later, carrying a bowl that was filled with cold water from the stream. He took a piece of cloth and soaked it in the water, then rang it out and lied it on Kate's forehead._

_Kate slowly stopped shivering and opened her eyes, glancing at him. She shifted slightly closer to him, making it a bit harder for him to hold the cloth to her cheeks and forehead._

"_Here." Jack said. He sat her up and sat down behind her, shifting so she could rest her head on his lap. He continued to try to cool her down, also trying to comfort her._

_Kate groaned smally and rolled onto her side, resting her head on his leg. She closed her eyes, moving closer to him, beginning to drift off._

_Jack watched her, placing his free hand on her back and rubbing it gently. "Night, Kate." he whispered. When he was sure she was asleep, he knelt down and kissed her cheek, then moved so her was lying beside her._

_The next morning, Kate woke up early, feeling a lot better than she had the night before. She looked to find herself in Jack's arms and smiled smally to herself. She made sure he was asleep, then kissed his cheek. "Morning, Jack." she whispered. Getting up, she left to head back to the beach._


	23. Realizzazioni

**Chapter 23**

**Realizzazioni**

"**The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today."**

Kate leaned against the side of her tent, looking at the ground. Maybe she should just go back to sleep again. But she'd slept so much already. But sleep was supposed to be good for you when you're sick. But she had so many nightmares. She rubbed her head, closing her eyes for a moment. Maybe she should just stand there and continue to argue with herself. At least it gave her something to do. She sighed and shook her head.

There was a slight noise outside. It sounded like footsteps on the sand, and they seemed to be getting closer to her tent. Kate held her breath, standing up straight. She grabbed the gun and took it off safety, holding it tightly. The footsteps suddenly stopped, but she knew that whoever or whatever it was was still there. They had stopped, but they hadn't gone away. She drew in a deep breath and held it for a moment, then nervously let it out, trying to calm herself. Why had the footsteps stopped? Was someone or something trying to taunt her?

She knew she shouldn't, but she took a hesitant step forward, causing Vincent to lift his head and look at her. She looked down at the dog, then quickly back up as she saw a shadow pass by her tent. She began trembling and took a step backwards, changing her mind about seeing who or what was out there. Instead of hoping to find out what it was, for now she just hoped that it didn't come and get her. Maybe as it started to leave, she'd peek out and find out. But not until it started to leave.

It seemed like she stood there forever, just waiting to see it leave. But finally it did begin to walk away. And as it did, Kate went slowly towards the opening of her tent. Slowly pushed the flap back and peeked outside, looking around in the direction it had went. Her brows furrowed in confusion as she once again saw Jack. So it was yet another hallucination? If it was a hallucination, then it couldn't hurt her, right? And if it was really Jack, then he wouldn't hurt her either. So either way, she figured she'd be safe.

Glancing back at Vincent, she tried to decide whether or not to take him with her. She finally decided against it, figuring it would be too much trouble to drag a lazy dog along if there was a good chance she was going to be safe. So turning once more, she headed out onto the beach.

The hot sun had dried the wet sand quite a bit. The blood red color had left, but some spots still had a pinkish tint to them. Kate tried not to look at those spots. She continued towards the jungle, heading in the direction where she had last seen Jack go. She was going to get some answers.

The sun had not quite dried the jungle as well as it had the sand. The thick canopy of trees blocked it out quite a bit, leaving the dirt still wet and muddy. Mud normally wasn't something that bothered her, but at the fast pace she was walking it did, causing her to accidentally almost slip a few times. At least the mud kept Jack's footprints though. That way she knew which way he was going.

It didn't take long before she realized that she was heading in the direction of the caves. She slowly slightly for a moment, becoming unsure. She didn't want to go back to the caves. It was just to hard to do it. She wanted answers though. She wanted to stop seeing things so maybe she wouldn't be quite as scared.

The footprints stopped at the cave entrance, and Kate looked up, glancing around. Where had he gone? She took a hesitant step in, noticing him in the infirmary. "Jack…" she tried quietly and nervously, slowly heading over towards him. "Jack, what's going on?" she asked.

Jack stood with his back to her, leaning over, looking through something. He stood up straight and turned, walking right through the wall of the cave.

Kate stared wide eyed. Okay. So now she knew that she was hallucinating. Jack didn't walk through walls. She glanced around nervously, then looked over to where he had been recently standing. She began to head over there, trying to figure out what he had be looking at. She glanced down, tilting her head to the side when here eyes landed on a small wooden box. She gently reached down and picked it up, looking it over. Deciding she didn't want to be at the caves anymore, and she could wait until she got back to the beach to see what was in the box, she turned around and headed back towards the beach again.


	24. Lettere a Kate

This chapter is rather...eh...It's sweet, but it's not my favorite. It will play an important part in the sequal though. The sequal is like...all the answers you won't get in this story. Lol.

Only 3 more chapters left.

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**Chapter 24**

**Lettere a Kate**

"**Letters are among the most significant memorial a person can leave behind."**

Kate stared at the little wooden box as she walked to her tent, her curiosity building up quite quickly. She pushed her tent flap out of the way and walked inside, sitting down on the sand. Carefully, she put the little box down in front of her and opened it up, a bit confused to see it was full of envelopes.

She pulled the first one out and looked it over, running her fingers over the smooth white paper. She turned it over and carefully opened it, then pulled out the letter that was inside. Unfolding the letter, she looked to see who it was for. "Dear, Kate…" she murmured in confusion, shaking her head slightly. She went to read the whole thing.

_Dear Kate,_

_I know that we haven't been on this island all that long, but I think that I'm feeling something for you. I hope you realize how much your friendship means to me, and I hope it lasts forever. I know you'll never get this letter, because I don't have the guts to send it to you, but I really do hope you know how much you mean to me. You're a wonderful person and I don't know what I would do without your help. If you hadn't sewed me up when we first crashed, who knows what would have happened. Everyone tells me about being the hero, but I'm sure I wouldn't even be thought of as the hero here with your help. And the only reason that I'm keeping the title is because of you. When things get too stressful, you always seem to be there to help me relax. Thank you._

_Love, _

_Jack_

Kate reread the letter a couple times, shaking her head. She bit down on her lower lip, feeling tears filling her eyes. She carefully put the letter back in the envelope and put it back in the box, pulling out the next one.

_Dear Kate,_

_I'm so sorry for today. I know I made you cry, and I feel horrible for it. I just don't see why you find it so hard to tell me the truth. Why can't you trust me? You should know that whatever you tell me will stay between us, and who knows…maybe talking about it will help. I could tell that that toy plane means a lot to you, and I'm glad that it was in the case we opened earlier. I know that I'll never have the courage to send you this letter and it will just be put in that box I found with the old one, but even without this letter, I hope you'll find it in your heart to forgive me for making you cry._

_Love,_

_Jack_

Kate closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them again. She put the letter back in it's envelope and took out the next one. There was only one more after this one, so she read slowly, not wanting to finish reading them so quickly.

_Dear Kate,_

_I don't know what was with you today. Alls I know is that something was really wrong. I'm glad I found you in the jungle when I did. I'm not sure what you're thinking, but I hope you know that I'm not sorry you kissed me. I just wish that you wouldn't have ran from me. I really wish that I could have figured out what was wrong and helped you with it. I hate to see you cry. Today made me realize that I really do love you with all my heart. That kiss was wonderful and I hope we get a chance to kiss again. I hope that things work out for you and that whatever's wrong goes away._

_Love,_

_Jack_

Kate could feel hot tears rolling down her cheeks. Why had it taken this long for her to realize she loved him? How many things could have turned out different if she hadn't waited this long? She put the letter back in it's envelope and put the envelope away. Now for the last one. She slowly picked it up, taking note of how it felt heavier than the other ones had. She opened it up and took the letter out, a necklace falling out with it. She picked it up, looking it over. It was something simple, obviously homemade, but still beautiful. The string was a dark blue and tied at the back at what seemed to be just the right spot. In the middle was a orange seashell with white swirls. On either side of the shell were three tiny white shells. On the middle shell, her name was written in pretty blue letters. She stared at the necklace for several moments, just admiring it. Finally she slipped it over her head, then adjusted it on her neck. She sniffled then opened the letter and began reading.

_Dear Kate,_

_Writing these letters to you is most likely meaningless, isn't is? You'll never get them, and I'll never have the courage to tell you how I feel about you. You'll never even get the necklace that I made for you. One of these days, maybe, hopefully, we'll finally be able to love each other without things getting in the way. One of these days, maybe you'll actually love me. But if you love Sawyer, I guess I'll have to learn to accept that. I don't want our friendship to be ruined just because I can't bring myself to get along with Sawyer. This is my final letter now. But I do hope you realize that I love you. And who knows, maybe one of these days you'll accidentally stumble upon this little box and read these. And if you do, then hopefully you do it soon._

_Love,_

_Jack_

Kate sniffled and put it away just like she had done with the other ones. "Guess I stumbled upon them a little too late, huh?" she asked quietly. She shook her head slightly and put the box in her lap, shutting it and then simply looking at it. She wondered where he had found it. It didn't look like it had been in the crash, since it was in perfect condition. It was the perfect size for the letters and made of dark wood. Around the bottom tiny ships and waves were craved perfectly into the wood all the way around.

Kate blinked away a few more tears and shook her head again. She lied down, resting her head on Vincent, using him as a pillow. "It's barely even dinner time yet." she muttered, shaking her head. She tapped her fingers on the ground, beginning to get bored. It was hard to just sit around like this and do nothing, especially for her. Forcing herself to leave her tent though seemed to be even harder.

After about five seconds of lying there, she got bored and sat up. Rubbing her eyes, she stood and glanced around. She had found the letters, maybe now she'd stop hallucinating. Her fever was still up, but she had a feeling now that that had nothing to do with the hallucinations. Glancing down at Vincent, she tried to decide whether to take him or not. Figuring he was probably just as bored as she was, she knelt down and took his leash.

The two of them walked slowly out of her tent, though sat down right outside. Kate was still quite nervous about getting captured. She unhooked Vincent's leash from his collar and looked at him. "Where's your tennis ball?" she asked him.

The dog look at her and blinked for a few seconds, then turned and took off down the beach towards the tent he used to stay in. Hopefully that's where it was. He couldn't remember where he'd put it. It'd been quite awhile since he'd actually played with it. He stopped outside his tent and sat down in the sand, trying to think. He glanced at Kate and wagged his tail. He wanted to play, so he needed to find it. It had to be around here somewhere. He walked inside the tent, poking his nose in all the little cracks and holes. Eventually it brushed against his tennis ball and he pulled it out. Wagging his tail, he ran back to Kate with it. After he dropped it on her lap, he began bouncing around.

Kate smiled smally and picked the ball up off her lap. She glanced around then threw it as far as she could, watching as the dog ran after it and brought it back. She continued to throw it several times until her arm got tired and she began to get bored with the game. She sighed and picked up the ball. "Let's go back in and get something to eat." she said, looking down at the dog.

Standing up, she turned and headed back into her tent. With a sigh, she picked up another piece of guava. "Are you hungry?" she asked Vincent as she picked up a knife and cut it for them. She forced a smile and once again gave the dog half while she ate the other half. She finished half of what she had then sighed and gave the rest to the dog. She found it hard to keep her thoughts off of Jack, and once they had found their way back to him, she had found herself no longer having an appetite. "We watched the sunset together once." she said quietly to Vincent, looking outside as the sun began to slowly go down. "It was really nice. We just sat there in silence." She smiled smally. "I ended up falling asleep about five minutes after it went down and he had to pick me up and carry me to my tent." She closed her eyes and sniffled, her smile slowly fading.

What was the point of this? Why was she forcing herself to be miserable when she knew he wasn't coming back? Why was she trying to rely on false hope? It was amazing how she could go to semi-happy to crying within a matter of seconds.

Opening her eyes, she stared outside as the sun slowly went down. Everything was blurry do to her tears though. She wasn't sure how long she stood there, seeming to be in a trans, just thinking. It was completely dark though when she snapped out of it.

Eyes red and puffy from crying, she lied down on the sand, shaking her head. "There's no point in this." she said quietly. "I just want to be with him." And tomorrow, she would be with him. Tomorrow she'd die and finally she'd be with him. "It wasn't supposed to be like this." She shook her head, almost choking on a sob. "It wasn't supposed to end like this. We were supposed to have a happy ending. Not like this."

Vincent lied down a few feet away from her and glanced over at her. He shifted slightly and closed his eyes, just listening to her ramble. He was a dog. He didn't know what she was talking about. He knew sit, stay, come, roll over, and where's your tennis ball?. That was all.

Kate watched the dog than sighed. Great. She was boring the poor thing to sleep with her depressed rambling. "Night Vincent." she muttered. With a sigh, she rolled over and closed her eyes, trying to fall asleep.


	25. Notte prima dell'estremità

Only two more chapters left after this one. I'd really like to reach at least 50 reviews by the end of the story.

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**Chapter 25**

**Notte prima dell'estremità**

"**The obsession with suicide is characteristic of the man who can neither live nor die, and whose attention never swerves from this double impossibility."**

_The rhythmic rocking motion seemed to be keeping her in a tired state. It was either that or the comfort of the strong arms holding her close. The air around her seemed to be warm and misty, the kind of warm that makes you just want to lie down and take a nap._

_Despite her confusion, Kate found it very easy to stay calm and to keep her eyes closed. Somehow she knew the person holding her close was Jack. She wasn't sure how, but she did. Most likely it was because this was a dream, even though it felt very real to her. And at the moment, she wished it was real. She probably would have done anything to be in Jack's strong arms._

_Slowly, she forced her eyes open, finding herself on the beach, resting comfortably in Jack's lap. She seemed to have no control over what she was doing, since this was a dream. Though she just sort of went with things, without even noticing. "You like watching me sleep?" she murmured, leaning her head against his bare chest with a yawn._

_Jack looked down at her and smiled. "I love watching you sleep." he said, running his hand through her beautiful brown curls. "And since you fell asleep in my arms and I had nothing else to do…" He smirked and kissed the top of her head._

_Kate felt her lips curl into a small smile. "I see how it is…You say you love watching me sleep, but if you had something else to do; you would have gone and done that instead."_

_Jack chuckled softly. "Only if someone really needed me." he told her. "I wouldn't have moved even if you hadn't of fallen asleep on my lap."_

_Kate smiled even more. "Good." she murmured, snuggling against him. "I'm still tired." she murmured with a sigh, closing her eyes._

_Jack smiled. "It's going to start getting late." he said. "I can take you back to your tent if you want me too."_

_Kate nodded her head, but then wrapped her arms tightly around his torso. "But only if you stay with me." she told him, yawning._

_Jack smiled. "I planned on it." he whispered softly in her ear. He gently picked her up, feeling her hold tighter to him as he did so. He laughed and shook his head. "I'm not going to drop you, Kate." he told her._

_Kate loosened her grip slightly. "Just making sure." she mumbled, wrinkling her nose a bit._

_Jack shook his head again. He took her back to her tent, walking in and lying her down on the airline seats that she used as a bed. He lied down beside her, wrapping his arms around her. "Kate…" he said softly with a smirk. "Are you sleeping?"_

_Kate pouted as he spoke and nodded her head. She rolled over, trying to bury her face in his shoulder, only to have him pull away. "Jack…" she whined._

_Jack smirked teasingly. "Kate…" he mocked softly. He leaned down, placing a gentle, teasing kiss on her lips. "Are you still sleeping."_

_Kate stuck out her lower lip, pouting even more. "I don't know." she replied with a frown._

_Jack grinned. "You don't know?" he asked her. "Maybe I can help you figure it out." He placed another teasing kiss on her lips, pulling away just as he felt her kiss him back._

_Kate whimpered in frustration. "Stop it." she pouted, opening her eyes to look at him._

_Jack looked at her. "Awww." he said. He leaned down and kissed her again, deepening it as she kissed him back._

_Kate smiled slightly and kissed him back. She placed one of her hands on his cheek, stroking it gently with her thumb._

_Jack kissed her for several moments, pulling away when he needed to breath. He leaned his forehead against hers, smiling softly. "You know how wonderful you are?" he asked._

"_No." Kate mumbled, trying to catch her breath. "But I have a feeling you're about to tell me." She smiled slightly._

"_You are wonderful." Jack told her. "You are the most wonderful woman in this entire world. You're beautiful, smart, strong, brave, helpful, compassionate…And everything I've always wanted."_

_Kate smiled, feeling a blush creeping onto her cheeks. "Thanks, Jack." she whispered, biting down on her lower lip. She opened her eyes and looked at him, still smiling._

_Jack looked at her and grinned. "We've been on this island for so long." he told her, running his hand through her hair again. "Years. I don't think we're ever even going to get off." He looked at her, staring into her eyes. "Can I ask you something, Katie?"_

_Kate stared back into his eyes and nodded her head. What could he possibly want to ask her right now? All she wanted to do was kiss him again. Her gaze traveled to his lips, but she caught herself and quickly looked back into his eyes again._

_Jack smirked, watching her. He pulled her closer. "Will you marry me, Katie?" he asked her softly. "I love you so much."_

_Kate stared at him for a moment, tears welling up in her eyes; soon streaming down her cheeks. She nodded her head. "Yes." she whispered. "I love you so much too."_

_Jack grinned, looking at her. Their lips met again in a passionate kiss before he slowly pulled away. "You'll be happy in the end, Katie."_


	26. Non essere spaventato

Only one more chapter after this one. I'll probably get it up sometime tomorrow evening or something like that. I'm thinking of working on my new story, and then doing my sequal to this, and then maybe even doing another new story.

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**Chapter 26**

**Non essere spaventato**

"**Absence from whom we love is worse than death, and frustrates hope severer than despair."**

The night was peaceful, thanks to Kate's good dreams. She stayed fast asleep, not even tossing and turning like she normally did. Tomorrow was the day that her world would end. She wouldn't have to worry about anything anymore. She'd be dead and things would be fine once again. It seemed official now. Her friends were gone and they were never coming back. She was alone in this horrible place and it was going to stay like that unless she did something about it. Her tears were all cried and her heart felt like it was stone cold, no longer feeling any emotion what so ever.

A light breeze blew over the warm dark island, making the trees and bushes shake slightly. The rainy season was almost over, but Kate didn't care. There was nothing to enjoy if she had no one to enjoy it with. Once tomorrow came, things would be different though. Maybe she'd finally be happy, the cruel world no longer in existence. Once tomorrow came, maybe things would be better.

A loud sound seemed to shake the island quite suddenly, Kate and Vincent both bolting upright. Eyes wide with terror, Kate's grip on the gun tightened and she slowly stood up. She grabbed Vincent's leash and made her way out of her shelter and onto the beach, turning to face the jungle. Her body was shaking as she watched the trees and bushes shake, the smoke monster making it's horrible noises, making her ears feel like they were about to explode.

Vincent also stared into the jungle, baring his teeth and making growling noises. He shifted so he was slightly in front of Kate, wanting to protect her from whatever it was that was in the jungle.

Kate pointed her gun towards it, glancing around. The dark was terrifying to be in alone, and she was glad that she could see signs of the sun rising out over the ocean. It would be easier to see once the sun was up. She would be able to shoot better and hopefully see the thing if it tried to come out of the jungle. Time seemed to move in slow motion, and the monster seemed to not want to turn around and give up.

For once, no thoughts of her friends even crossed Kate's mind. Maybe she was getting was getting over that they had died. Or maybe she was finally breaking and going crazy. She stood there for hours, just staring into the jungle, holding her gun tightly. Nothing seemed to be happening, except for the monster shaking the trees and making it's horrible noise.

The sun slowly made it's way into the sky, casting an orangish light down over the island. Oranges, yellows, and light pinks filled the beautiful sky over the clear blue ocean. It looked sorta like a painting, like nothing that beautiful could have actually existed. Maybe it was a miracle. A sign that better times were coming. A sign that the beach would soon be empty. That Kate would be no longer living there, finally finding peace in death. That Vincent would no longer be frolicking across the beach chasing a tennis ball. That no more pain, fear, or sadness would be suffered. That for once, everything would finally be okay.

Another salty breeze blew in from the ocean, the monster not giving up. Before Kate even knew what was happening, it flew towards her, stopping right in front of her. The puff of black smoke stared at her with its dark eyes, hatred filled. The noise didn't quiet, nor did it get any louder.

Kate could feel herself fill with fear. The gun slipped out of her hands, and she no longer even knew why she had brought it with her. After all, she was going to die anyway. She stared back at it, trembling slightly, not able to move. She found her mind so cluttered with thoughts, that she could barely think either. As she stared at it, she noticed pictures flickering inside of it, crashes of thunder and lighting surrounding them. Her eyes seemed to be drawn to the pictures, her mind focusing in on them. Pictures of her. Of her family. Her friends. Her past. Pictures of Sawyer. And Jack. Oh Jack. Memories of the terrible, not very many of the good. Pictures showing herself all that she had done. All that she had ruined. All of the horrible she had ever done. The feeling was overwhelming. But maybe, it wasn't all about her.

The smoke stared at her for moments, more before swooping down. It grabbed the golden retriever, taking it back into the jungle before it could even make a sound. The leash had ripped in half, and Kate slowly looked down at the half that she held. Her companion was gone. He wouldn't be there with her until she felt that she could take her own life away, right after taking his.

Slowly, she looked back up, staring back into the jungle as the trees shook even more violent, the painful cries of the dog echoing throughout the island. She took a step back, barely even realizing it. She'd had enough. Physically and mentally, she had had enough. Tears began to pour down her face for what seemed like the millionth time. Maybe it was time for what she had planned to do today. Maybe it was time to end her life. To make everything simply stop.

Everything seemed to move in slow motion as the gun was slowly brought up to her head. She closed her eyes, trying to gather her courage to do this. Her last thoughts seemed to be focusing on Jack. She flipped the gun off safety and was about to pull the trigger then the monster made another horrible noise.

The half dead, ripped up, golden retriever landed on the sands that were still slightly pink with blood from the last deaths that had taken place on the island. Heart wrenching noises escaped the animal, causing Kate to reopen her eyes.

Kate slowly moved the gun back down, staring at Vincent. There was no way she could do this. There was no way she could just kill herself and let the dog lie there and suffer. She slowly pointed the gun at him and shut her eyes.

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Mwahaha. Cliff hanger. 


	27. Sarete Felici, Amore

Last chapter. Hope you all enjoy it. I'll have my author's note up sometime in a few hours. Please review. I'll have the sequal up sometime. I'll keep you all update of that as I start my new story.

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**Chapter 27**

**Sarete Felici, Amore**

"**One word frees us  
Of all the weight and pain in life,  
That word is Love"**

Jack emerged from the jungle, limping as he walked. He looked exhausted and defeated, his eyes glued to the ground, as if he'd lost all hope. Looking up, though, his eyes landed on Kate, and he felt himself freeze. He just stood there staring at her in pure confusion, until he heard and noticed Vincent.

_This time, This place  
Misused, Mistakes  
Too long, Too late  
Who was I to make you wait  
Just one chance  
Just one breath  
Just in case there's just one left  
'Cause you know,  
you know, you know _

He found himself barely able to even move as his eyes drifted back to Kate. He had thought she was dead. But right there she was, standing across the beach from him, her entire world falling down around her. For how many days she had been on the beach? Where was everyone else? He looked around for them for a moment, before his eyes landed on the graves. He took in what had happened, but didn't give it time to settle. Kate had been alone on the beach, most likely with the friend she was about to kill. He walked over to her quite quickly, not wanting her to have to kill the only companion she'd had. Grabbing the gun from her, he sent one bullet into the dog, killing it on the spot. He quickly dropped the gun and turned her around, pulling her into his arms.

_I love you  
I have loved you all along  
And I miss you  
Been far away for far too long  
I keep dreamin' you'll be with me  
and you'd never go  
Stop breathing if  
I don't see you anymore _

Kate froze, not sure what was going on for a moment. She felt someone hugging her though, and quickly hugged them back, not even realizing it was Jack until several moments later. She quickly hugged him tighter, burying her face in his shirt, beginning to cry. "Jack!" she choked, holding onto him.

_On my knees, I'll ask  
Last chance for one last dance  
'Cause with you, I'd withstand  
All of Hell to hold your hand  
I'd give it all  
I'd give for us  
Give anything, but I won't give up  
'Cause you know,  
you know, you know_

Jack closed his eyes. Ignoring the pain from the gunshot wound in his leg, he lifted her up, hugging her tightly. For miles he'd walked back to the beach, not caring about pain. "Kate." he whispered, tears beginning to roll down his own cheeks. He had thought they had caught her and killed her. But here he was holding her. "I missed you so much."

_That I love you  
I have loved you all along  
I miss you  
Been far away for far too long  
I keep dreamin you'll be with me  
and you'd never go  
Stop breathing if  
I don't see you anymore _

"Jack." Kate managed again, hugging him as tight as she could. "I thought…Jack." She couldn't even complete her sentences, overwhelmed by the fact that he wasn't dead. "I love you." she all she managed to get out. "I love you so much."

_So far away  
So far away  
far away for far too long  
So far away  
So far away  
far away for far too long_

"I know. I love you too, Kate." Jack whispered, spinning her around slightly. "So much. So much, Kate." He still held her, needing to touch her, to make himself realize she was really there.

_But you know, you know, you know  
I wanted  
I wanted you to stay  
'Cause I needed  
I need to hear you say  
I love you  
I have loved you all along  
And I forgive you  
For being away for far too long_

Kate pulled back slightly. She put her hands on his cheeks, staring into his loving brown eyes. Slowly, she closed her eyes and pressed her lips gently to his.

_So keep breathing  
'Cause I'm not leaving you anymore  
Believe it  
Hold on to me, and never let me go  
Keep breathing  
'Cause I'm not leaving you anymore  
Believe it  
Hold on to me and, never let me go  
Keep breathing  
Hold on to me, never let me go  
Keep breathing  
Hold on to me, never let me go._

Jack also closed his eyes. He kissed her back, holding her as close as he could.

Kate deepened the kiss, taking her hands off of his cheeks and wrapping her arms around his neck.

Sawyer walked out of the jungle behind him, followed by Jessie and Jayla. He held his hand over his shoulder where the bullet had hit. Glancing up, he noticed Kate and Jack and couldn't help but smile slightly.

Kate slowly pulled away from the kiss and opened her eyes, looking at Jack. She leaned her forehead against his, keeping her arms around his neck.

Jack also opened his eyes, looking into hers. The defeated look had gone now. It had gone from both of them. Hope had come back.

"I thought this was the end." Kate whispered, staring at him. "I thought it was going to be all over."

Sawyer headed over toward them, glancing at the graves as he walker. "Nah, Freckles." he said. He turned her to look out over the ocean, a grin spreading across his lips. "This is only the beginning, Freckles." he told her. "Only the beginning."


	28. Author's Notes

LOST and all of it characters and places are owned by:

JJ Abrams

Carlton Cuse

And the wonderful Damon Lindelof

Far Away and Savin' Me belong to Nickelback and such.

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**Dedicated to:**

Avi - You're the first person that I ever role played with and I can guarantee that without you, this novel wouldn't even be written. Thank you so much for sticking by me through all my writers block and not giving up on me even when I wrote some weird and confusing things that probably made you think I was stupid. I hope we continue to role play for a long time, because I don't know what I'd do if you ever stopped role playing with me.

Erin - We've have some good times role playing together, despite all of our typos. Hehehe. I don't know what I'd do without you. When things during LOST get rough, you're always the one to boost up my Jate spirits. And even if you are on the other side of the country, one of these days we'll stalk the LOST men together with everyone else. You're great. Go Pb&J.

Bailey - I can't remember when we started role playing, but I know I wasn't exactly happy, because I hated Skate. I'm glad I toughed it out though, because without our role plays I would have had some major writers block on this novel. You're one of the best Skate/Jaters I've ever met…Not many people are willing to sway both ways just so they can role play with someone. Go Benry!

Caitlin - Yet another one of my cool Skater buddies. I can definitely say that without you, this novel wouldn't have even gotten started. You got me through a lot of writers block with our role play and gave me so many ideas for twists and scenes. You're the only role play over a messenger that I can ever keep going and we've been role playing for quite awhile. You've helped me procrastinate when it came to so much homework. Hehehe. You're great.

Alexa - I haven't been role playing with you for as long as I have everyone else, but our role play has been so great. We're like the perfect writing partners, portraying our characters so well throughout the whole role play. Even if you must correct every typo I make -which I thank you for- our role play is one of the best post-island role plays I've ever done. And yes! I remembered your name!

And I especially gotta thank all my reviewers.

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Keep a look out for my new stories.

1. Turbulence

2.Unsafe: Sequel to Them

3. All At Once


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